Congresswoman Lee’s Statement on November Jobs Report
Oakland, CA – Congresswoman Barbara Lee, chair of the Democratic Whip Task Force on Poverty, Income Inequality and Opportunity, released the following statement on the Department of Labor’s November Jobs Report. The report shows that the economy added 178,000 jobs in November.
“Today’s jobs report is a promising sign that our economy continues to pick up steam under President Obama’s leadership, despite continued Republican obstruction.
However, more work remains to address employment and hiring disparities. Right now, the Latino unemployment rate (5.7%) is still more than a full point higher than the white unemployment rate (4.2%) and the African American unemployment rate of 8.2% is nearly double the rate for white Americans. Clearly, we must do more to address these inequities and ensure that our economic recover reaches all communities.
Sadly, instead of taking much–needed action on job growth and income inequality, the Republican do-nothing Congress has chosen to endanger these gains and gamble with our economy.
Rather than offering more handouts to special interests and the super-rich, I urge my Republican colleagues to focus on passing legislation that will benefit working families, including raising the minimum wage, expanding workforce training, closing the wage gap and investing in our crumbling roads and bridges.
We have come too far to allow Republican obstructionism and special interests to undo the progress we have made.”
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