Scott Statement on October Jobs Report – 2016
WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added a total of 161,000 jobs in October, with the unemployment rate falling to 4.9 percent.
“The October jobs report shows that our economy added 161,000 jobs. The longest streak of total job growth on record continued and U.S. businesses have now added 15.5 million jobs since early 2010. Just last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the third quarter of 2016, with strong export growth and continued strength in consumer spending. While we celebrate this progress, we also remain committed to making meaningful investments in our nation’s families and in our economy to ensure that our growing prosperity is broadly shared.
“The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that from 2014-2015, the typical household income grew 5.2 percent, the fastest annual growth on record. This means families had more money in their paychecks to put toward rent, child care costs, college tuition, and care for aging loved ones. The report also showed that the percentage of Americans with incomes below the poverty line fell from 14.8 percent to 13.5 percent, the largest one-year drop since 1968. And, the uninsured rate fell sharply in 2015—the fifth straight year the uninsured rate has fallen since the Affordable Care Act’s enactment.
“There is no doubt we have made great economic strides under the Obama Administration, but we must build on this progress. There is more work to do to ensure that we build an economy that works for every family in America. That’s why Committee Democrats continue to fight for the Working Families Agenda so we can boost wages, help people better balance work and family life, and level the playing field by ending discrimination in the workplace. I have confidence that when Congress returns after the election, we can continue working with our colleagues across the aisle to strengthen the economic recovery, and build on the progress we have already made.”
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