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For Immediate Release
January 9, 2009
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Contact: Nicole Williams
(202) 225-2661 |
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CBC Releases Statement on Recent Unemployment Numbers |
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Washington, D.C.- Today, the Department of Labor announced that in 2008, the U.S. lost 2.6 million jobs, more than any other year since 1945. The unemployment rate increased to 7.2 percent in the month of December, the highest rate increase since January 1993. Rep. John Lewis, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Labor Task Force, released this statement on behalf of the CBC:
“The national figures are high, but in some cities and some communities across the nation the problem is much worse. Minority communities always suffer more when our economy is struggling. When people lose their jobs, they lose their homes, their health care, and their ability to support their families. They lose their dignity and their self-respect.
“This downturn represents the failure of trickle down economics. We can no longer allow every man and woman to fend for themselves. The federal government must act immediately to increase training, education, jobless services, and benefits to the many Americans who want and need to work.
“We must support President-elect Obama’s efforts to create jobs in new and emerging sectors like technology, health care, and green infrastructure. And we must reaffirm the federal government’s role to assist Americans who need help.”
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