Hoyer: Congress Must Fight Unemployment

National unemployment dropped to 4.7 percent in May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report for May, and House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released a statement. The 75th consecutive monthly report showed private sector job growth, but Congressman Hoyer said he would like to see more.

“While this is a milestone in the historic turnaround of our economy from the darkest days of recession, adding just 25,000 private sector jobs represents a sharp drop from recent months,” he said,  before adding that Congress needs to do more to ensure that jobs in America pay well and lead to opportunities to Make It In America.”

Make It In America is an ambitious plan to invest in manufacturing jobs and competitiveness both in the immediate term and over the longer term. It does so by focusing on four key action areas that not only have bipartisan support but that also are common sense. They are: adopt a national manufacturing strategy, increase exports, bring jobs and innovation back to America, and invest in job training.

“Congress must enact policies that encourage businesses to invest in their workers and innovate for the future. We also have a responsibility to do what it takes to make sure that the jobs of the twenty-first century can sustain an American dream for the twenty-first century. This month’s jobs report ought to be a wake-up call to those in Congress who have been standing in the way of investments in job growth and opportunity. I urge them to change their approach so that this streak of private sector job creation does not end here.”

According to the May 2016 report, the unemployment rate declined by .3 percent to 4.7. Employment in health care increased, but mining jobs declined and employment in the information sector went down because of a strike.

The number of unemployed people in the US is now at about 7.4 million. There has been little change in the rate from August to April.

The declining unemployment rate applies to adult men, adult women, whites, and Hispanics. The rates for teenagers, blacks, and Asians showed nearly no change. Long-term unemployment also declined by 178,000 to 1.9 million in May. The citizens on this list make up about 25.1 percent of the total unemployment number. Those who have been unemployed shorter than five weeks decreased to 2.2 million.

The number of people who lost their jobs and those who completed temporary jobs declined to 3.6 million, a decrease of 282,000 people.

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For more information about House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader Page.