WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joint Economic Committee Chairman Dan Coats (R-Ind.) issued the following statement regarding today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that the U.S. economy added 242,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in February, and the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9 percent:

 

“While our economy is adding jobs, expectations regarding employment numbers have diminished to the point that this report seems far better than it actually is. A deeper examination of the numbers reveals some troubling trends.

 

“Workers in their older years are returning to the workforce in greater numbers than prime-age workers, as the largest employment increase occurred among those 55 and older. The amount of long-term unemployed, defined as those looking for work for 27 weeks or longer, increased as a percentage of the unemployed in February.

 

“When it comes to economic growth, Americans deserve better than where our country currently stands. I’ll continue my efforts to pursue legislation that decreases our debt, reduces overly burdensome regulations on employers and overhauls a tax code that is holding back our potential. We should not accept lackluster growth as the new normal.”