Bennett: <b> Bennett Says 5-Year Low Unemployment Reflects Strong Job Creation and Robust Economy </b>: 11/03/2006

United States Senator: Bob Bennett - Utah

Contact: Contact: Emily Christensen, 202-224-5444, Washington, D.C. 20510

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 03, 2006

Bennett Says 5-Year Low Unemployment Reflects Strong Job Creation and Robust Economy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah), vice chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said today that the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing a five-year low unemployment rate of 4.4 percent indicates a strong economy and labor market.

“Today’s news that unemployment reached a five-year low reflects continued economic growth and strong job creation. This robust labor market is also proof that the pro-growth policies championed by President Bush and passed by Congress helped boost the economy and gave businesses the confidence to create new jobs,” said Bennett.

Highlights of the report:

The unemployment rate declined to 4.4 percent in October, down from 4.6 percent in September.

The unemployment rate is at its lowest since May 2001, and is well below the recent peak of 6.3 percent in June 2003.

The unemployment rate has declined for three consecutive months.

Non-farm payroll employment increased by 92,000 in October, following increases of 148,000 in September and 230,000 in August.

Payroll job gains in August and September were revised up by 97,000 and 42,000 additional jobs, respectively.

Over the past three months, payroll job gains have averaged a healthy 157,000 per month.

6.86 million new payroll jobs have been created in the past 38 months of consecutive job gains, including the preliminary estimate of the next benchmark revision to the payroll employment data.

Over the year ending in October, over 2.3 million new payroll jobs have been created, including the preliminary estimate of the next benchmark revision.

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http://bennett.senate.gov/