Chairman Scott Statement on September Jobs Report
WASHINGTON – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 661,000 jobs in August with the unemployment rate at 7.9 percent.
“As the nation undergoes the greatest economic and public health crisis in modern history, today’s jobs report reaffirms that Congress must pass additional support for American workers, students, and families. More than seven months since this crisis began, a record number of workers continue to file for unemployment compensation each week – over 1.4 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance last week, far exceeding the pre-pandemic record of just over 1 million. Additionally, the American economy has nearly 11 million fewer jobs compared to February.
“Due to continued inaction by the Trump Administration and Senate Republicans, this pandemic is doing deep, lasting damage to workers and the economy. In fact, new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office project that 8 million of the job losses due to the pandemic will be permanent. As Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently indicated, the current downturn will be longer, deeper, and more painful if Congress does not provide additional relief.
“Yesterday, the House passed an updated version of the Heroes Act, which increases funding for state and local governments to prevent widespread budget cuts and layoffs, expands paid leave benefits, and provides support for our child care system to ensure parents can get back to work. The bill also establishes workplace safety standards, restores supplemental unemployment benefits, and strengthens testing and tracing efforts.
“The pandemic is far from over – and the economic impacts of this crisis will continue to devastate families across the country if we do not crush the virus first and foremost. Senate Republicans must stop playing politics with the lives of the American people and pass the Heroes Act.”
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