Representative Yoder's Statement on August Jobs Report

WASHINGTON, D.C. – According to the latest report released by the Labor Department, U.S. employers added less jobs than expected during the month of August. The unemployment rate ticked down two-tenths of a percent to 8.1 percent in August, while employers added only 96,000 jobs – 67,000 less jobs than July’s gains. August marks the forty-third consecutive month of which the unemployment rate was above 8 percent. Additionally, the Labor Department revised June and July job gains south by 41,000 total jobs. Congressman Kevin Yoder made the following statement after the Labor Department released the August jobs report.

“The August job growth numbers are concerning. Any job gains are welcome news; but we also learned previous months’ gains were revised downward, again, by a total of 41,000. Additionally, 367,000 Americans simply gave up looking for employment. We are now in the forty-third consecutive month of a national unemployment rate of 8 percent or higher – we’ve seen this streak going for far too long. Job creators are unsure how they can add to their payrolls, and uncertainty is never good in a recovering economy. We need new leadership on the economy and need to enact legislation that will provide long term stability and certainty to employers.”

###