Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, today made the following statement on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicating that 524,000 American jobs were lost last month, the 12th straight month of decline:

"These latest employment numbers confirm the struggle that many families across this country and in my home state of Connecticut are already experiencing. Unfortunately, the prospect of job loss will continue to loom large for families trying to make ends meet, with the jobless rate predicted to continue to rise in coming months.

"The plight of these hard-working, middle class Americans highlights the increasing need to pass a comprehensive economic recovery package. We must invest in America’s future through infrastructure projects which will create jobs today and lay the foundation for growth tomorrow. If we do not, we run the very real risk that this recession will last longer and eliminate many more jobs."

-30-