Another jobs report, another historic success for the Obama economy.
According to the White House,”Our economy has now
added 8.0 million jobs over the past three years, a pace that has not
been exceeded since 2000. And while the economy added jobs at a somewhat
slower pace in August than in recent months, the unemployment rate fell
to 5.1 percent—its lowest level since April 2008—and the labor force
participation rate remained stable. Our businesses have now added 13.1
million jobs over 66 straight months, extending the longest streak on
record. In addition, hourly earnings for American workers continued to
rise.”
The
Department of Labor
announced in the August jobs report that the economy added 173,000
jobs. Businesses added 140,000 jobs. Over the past three months, an
average of 221,000 jobs per month have been added due to upward
revisions.
This is the 66th consecutive month of private sector
job growth under President Obama, for a total of more than 13 million
jobs. The longest running stretch of private sector job growth in our
history.
That’s a lot of private sector growth, an area Republicans have historically claimed expertise over.
The unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent, the lowest unemployment rate since April 2008. We are now at what
the Fed deems “full employment”. To make this even more encouraging, August numbers are usually revised up.
Total nonfarm payroll
employment increased by 173,000 in August, and the unemployment rate
edged down to 5.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Job gains occurred in health care and social assistance and in
financial activities. Manufacturing and mining lost jobs.
Democratic Leader Pelosi urged Congress to do more
for the people, saying in a statement, “Our economy continues to make
progress, adding another month to the longest uninterrupted period of
private sector job growth in American history. However, it is clear
more can and must be done to create good-paying jobs and grow the
paychecks of America’s hard-working families.”
Part of what Pelosi might be referring to is that the unemployment rate declines for whites doesn’t mean all is well:
Among the major worker
groups, the unemployment rate for whites declined to 4.4 percent in
August. The rates for adult men (4.7 percent), adult women (4.7
percent), teenagers (16.9 percent), blacks (9.5 percent), Asians (3.5
percent), and Hispanics (6.6 percent) showed little change in August.
Meanwhile Republicans continue to play games with
business, continuing to block reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank,
refusing to pass a real jobs bill, denying investments in our
infrastructure, and continuing on with their sequester temper tantrum.
There’s even word on the street that Republicans are looking to another
government shutdown, seeing as their previous efforts in shutting down
the government harmed the country so much and cost so much.
Pelosi pointed out that there are only 12
legislative days left before the budget deadline. If Republicans stay
true to form, they will stop at nothing, no matter the collateral
damage, in order to empower their party to make unilateral decisions
that help the 1%.
It took seven years for the unemployment rate to recover from the Bush stock market crash and related Great Recession.
For
every inch forward we take, Republicans rock the boat and poke at the
leak until we take on more water. In spite of them, the Obama economy
has made history yet again, and in the private sector to boot. Expect
more wailing and caterwauling from the backseat drivers who would rather
America failed than see President Obama get any acknowledgement for
anything.
