Washington, Nov 3 -  U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, issued the following statement upon the U.S. Department of Labor today announcing that 92,000 jobs were created in October for a total of 6.8 million since August 2003, and that the unemployment rate has declined to 4.4 percent:

“The news about the national economic environment becomes better and better,” Hoekstra said. “We must prevent tax increases and further efforts to eliminate unnecessary red tape to enable the economy to maintain its successful streak.

“The stock market is reaching record highs, wages continue to grow and the deficit continues to decline. We need to continue to improve our ability to produce jobs and economic growth in Michigan so that our locally diverse economy reflects the strong nationwide trends.”