WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joint Economic Committee Chairman Dan Coats (R-Ind.) issued a statement regarding today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that the U.S. economy added 215,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, including 210,000 private sector jobs, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.3%. The labor force participation rate remained unchanged at a recovery low of 62.6%. The long-term unemployment rate as a percent of the jobless grew 1.1 percentage points to 26.9%.

 

“Today’s labor report confirms a disappointingly slower pace of job growth this year,” said Coats. “Many Americans continue to struggle with long-term unemployment, which remains nearly double its 40-year, pre-recession average. Our goal should be dynamic growth, not mediocrity. To encourage stronger job growth, Congress should fix our broken tax code, oppose burdensome regulations issued by the administration and expand U.S. markets by adopting future trade agreements.”