- February 4, 2011
Sen. Carper Statement on January Jobs Report
WASHINGTON – Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) released the following statement in response to January employment figures released today:
“I was encouraged to learn today that the national unemployment rate had declined to its lowest level since April 2009. I was also heartened by the news that the manufacturing sector added 49,000 jobs – its strongest job growth rate since August 1998. But a national unemployment rate at 9 percent is still unacceptably high, and the 36,000 jobs created last month was not what I had hoped for. It’s a reminder that while the worst of the recession is behind us, there is still much work to be done to help our economy continue to recover and grow, particularly in industries like manufacturing which are critical to the long-term vitality of our economy.
“In order for the private sector to keep leading the way, we must continue to provide a nurturing environment for job creation, and also address businesses’ need for certainty and predictability. We can accomplish this through the implementation of sound economic policies, and the Senate is already hard at work on the first jobs bill of the 112th Congress – the Aviation Jobs Bill Protects Consumers, Saves and Creates Jobs Act (S. 223) – which will create and save 280,000 jobs nationwide by investing in airports across the country and also reduce costly delays at airports by more than 20 percent.
“Even now, there are still far too many Delawareans looking for work. The tax package that we passed in the Senate last year – though far from perfect – extended emergency unemployment insurance benefits to those who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, and provided payroll tax credits to those hard-working families who are struggling to pay their bills on time. In Washington, we need to focus on common sense measures that can accelerate job creation. Doing so will help unemployed and underemployed Delawareans get back on their feet, and also help Delaware’s businesses—both small and large—resume hiring and investing in Delaware’s families.”
To read the Institute for Supply Management report on manufacturing, please visit:
http://www.ism.ws/ISMReport/MfgROB.cfm?navItemNumber=12942
To read the Department of Labor’s jobs report, please visit: