Shuster Statement on Unemployment Report

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Bill Shuster released the following statement on the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment report:

“290,000 jobs have been added to the economy, but the unemployment rate remains 9.9%; a stark reminder that we are nowhere close to the economy President Obama promised when he signed the trillion dollar stimulus into law.

I agree with Republican Leader Boehner and a growing number of Americans that Democrats in Congress have no coherent agenda to create jobs and are set in the outmoded and wrong way of thinking that big government, not the American people, holds the answer to our economic woes.

To lower the unemployment rate and create a strong economic recovery, Congress needs to stop the wasteful spending that continues to pile on debt that weakens the foundation of our economy and shifts the bill to our children and grandchildren. Speaker Pelosi must stop job killing policies like Cap and Trade and reverse the government takeover of healthcare that will reduce quality of care, increase taxes and shift even more power to the federal government.

House Republicans have a jobs-first agenda that will cut spending, reduce the size of government and create private sector jobs. I invite my constituents to see some of our proposals online at the Republican Solutions website.”

Obama Misery Index

Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee have put together a graph showing how public debt and unemployment have grown over the past 10 months - calling it the "Obama misery index."

Will House Leaders Now Focus on Job Creation?

House GOP Whip Eric Cantor reacts to Speaker Pelosi and President Obama's promise to focus on jobs:

House Democrats Philosophize While Unemployment Nears 10 Percent

Instead of dealing with high unemployment and a stifling debt, House Democrats have packed the House schedule with “filler” legislation including a bill to mark the birthday of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (H.Res.784).

“As unemployment hovers at 8.8 percent in Pennsylvania and inches closer to double digits nation-wide, House Democrats seem more comfortable celebrating the birth of Confucius than addressing our economic troubles,” Shuster said.

“Close to 3 million jobs have been lost since Democrats passed a stimulus bill that they promised would grow the economy and halt unemployment. Over the course of one year, our national debt load has grown by $1.42 trillion. These are unsustainable numbers that must be reversed by adopting policies that encourage private enterprise to grow, not the federal government.”

House Republicans are ready to do some serious work on the issues that matter to my constituents in Pennsylvania and Americans coast to coast,” Shuster added. “I, along with my Republican colleagues are ready for the debate. Will the Democrats listen?”

Unemployment numbers by state

NPR has an interactive map that shows state-by-state unemployment numbers for the nation. The interactive map can be viewed here.

What 9.8% Unemployment Really Means - By the Numbers

From GOP Conference:

“I know that ultimately the measure of an economy is, is it producing jobs that help people support families, send their kids to college?”

—President Barack Obama, September 20, 2009

Last week, the Department of Labor reported the highest unemployment rate in 26 years—9.8 percent for the month of September. Sadly, 9.8 percent only tells part of the story of the struggles of average Americans. A deeper look at the numbers reveals the true cost of the Democrats’ economic policies, especially for the nation’s most vulnerable people.

15,142,000: People unemployed and looking for work—the highest number ever.

263,000: Jobs eliminated in September.

1,916,000: People laid off in September—the highest number in one month ever.

2,884,000: Jobs lost since Democrats’ “stimulus” was passed in February.

9,179,000: People who are working only part-time because they cannot find full time employment.

2,219,000: People who want work, but who are not currently looking because of state the economy.

5,438,000: People unemployed and searching for work for more than 27 weeks—the highest level ever.

1,112,000: Job seekers that are new entrants to the workforce and have yet to find a job.

26.2: Average number weeks job seekers are unemployed after losing their jobs—the highest number since the statistic was first recorded in 1948.

25.9%: Unemployment rate among job seekers between the ages of 16 and 19—the highest level since the statistic was first measured in 1948.

15.4%: Unemployment rate among African Americans—the highest level since 1985.

12.7%: Unemployment rate among Hispanics and Latinos.

17%: Rate of underemployment, accounting for the unemployed and those who are unable to find adequate work.

15%: Unemployment rate among job seekers without a high school degree.

65.2%: Rate of the U.S. population in the workforce—the lowest level since 1986.

58.8%: Rate of the U.S. population who currently has a job—the lowest level since 1985.