According to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the unemployment rate remains at a stagnant 5.6% and only 21,000 jobs were created during the month of February, while 3,000 additional manufacturing jobs were lost. BLS also lowered its count of jobs gains in December (16,000 to 8,000) and January (112,000 to 97,000) by 23,000.  Since taking office, 2.3 million jobs have been lost under the leadership of President Bush.

“It is pathetic that President Bush is talking about an economic recovery when only 21,000 jobs were created in February.  That’s an average of 420 jobs per state,” Schakowsky said.  

“We need 150,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth, but President Bush only delivered 126,000 jobs over the past three months.  You don’t hear him touting that dismal economic record in any of his campaign ads,” Schakowsky added.

Schakowsky also pointed to a report released today by the Economic Policy Institute which found that the long term unemployment rate is the worst it’s been since 1983 (In 2003, 22% of the 8.2 million unemployed workers have been out of work for six months or longer).   

Schakowsky concluded, “President Bush promised the American people millions of new jobs, but instead he has the worst job creation record since Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression.   That is a miserable record that even hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign funds can’t change.”