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In June, President Obama visited North Carolina as part of his “Middle-Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour.” Tomorrow, he will return to the state to talk about jobs…again!

Americans need more than talk.  The jobs situation today remains dire. There are almost 2 million fewer jobs now than there were when the recession started.  

Even more disturbing is the current labor force participation rate – the number of people who have a job or are actively looking for work – which has dropped to 63%, the lowest since April 1978.

According to the most recent Labor Department report, 74,000 Americans found jobs in December, but nearly 347,000 left the labor force in same month. There are 91.27 million Americans currently notin the labor force, with 5.6 million between age 18 and 34 who can’t find a job, even though they want one.Sadly, too many of our friends and neighbors have given up hope and have stopped looking for jobs.

Americans need jobs and they need them now, but President Obama’s policies have made it more difficult for them to find them.  The president and the Senate have failed to act on dozens of House-passed jobs bills that would control spending, reduce health care costs, and make it easier for businesses to create jobs. Approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline alone would create over 20,000 American jobs.

 It is time for the president and the Senate to stop stalling and act immediately to pass these jobs bills and get Americans back to work. Learn more about these bills at gop.gov/jobs. Track their progress and show your support for the bills by becoming a citizen cosponsor at speaker.gov/jobs.