Washington, DC -- Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) said the February jobs report showing a substantial increase of 227,000 jobs created in February, the third consecutive month of 200,000-plus job growth, was an outstanding sign of the continuing recovery.  The private sector added 233,000 jobs, but government jobs fell, accounting for the difference. Further good news was the revisions to the December and January reports adding another 61,000 jobs.  In the last 24 months, there have been 4 million private sector jobs added.

Rep. Engel said, “We cannot forget the near-depression numbers the Obama Administration inherited from the Bush Administration when we were losing jobs by the hundreds of thousands each month.  Normally, these recent job numbers would not be cause for elation, but coming out of the depths of the Great Recession these numbers are welcome news.  The American people needs Congress to come together in a bipartisan manner and pass jobs legislation to aid this budding recovery.  We did so in a small way yesterday with the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act – designed to cut red tape to help small businesses to get off the ground.  This legislation must be considered only a first step.  I call on the Republican Majority to work with Democrats to pass a comprehensive job bill and a robust transportation bill to substantially boost our nation’s employment. 

“Too many Americans remain out of work, and there are problems which could deflect our recovery- Europe’s financial crisis, Middle East tensions, etc.  The fact that we are talking about real gains in job growth is satisfying.  What cannot be ignored is that the economy is continuing to heal after suffering devastating wounds from the biggest financial crisis we have faced as a nation since the Great Depression.”

Rep. Engel noted that three years ago, on March 6, 2009, the Dow Jones Industrial Average bottomed out at 6443.27.  It closed on Thursday at more than double that, 12,907.94, and a further sign that the Obama Administration’s economic recovery policies are working.

The unemployment rate held steady at 8.3 percent, while the number of long-term unemployed (27 weeks and over) dropped by 92,000 people.  An alternative measure of unemployment which does count those who have stopped looking for work dropped to 14.9 percent, its lowest reading since January 2009. 

Rep. Engel called for passage of jobs legislation to further boost the economy and get even more Americans back to work.  In the last three months, payrolls are growing at an average rate of over 245,000, which Rep. Engel called “an outstanding sign of continuing recovery.”

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