Rep. Keith Ellison Statement On May Jobs Report

Statement

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) released the following statement in response to the Department of Labor's announcement that the economy added 69,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent.

While private companies continued their two-year growth trend by adding 82,000 jobs, the public sector once again cut jobs--causing a noticeable drag on the economy.

"The latest dismal unemployment report proves that government has more than just a cheerleading role in creating a vibrant economy. We've seen two years of private sector growth and the American people need to see more. But state and local governments are actually contributing to the jobs crisis. The public sector lost 13,000 jobs in May. We're in a slow recovery that started in June 2009 but the public sector doesn't seem to realize it and has cut 600,000 jobs since then. This includes more than 250,000 workers in public education.

"This public sector shrinkage cannot sustain an economy and shows again that austerity does not create prosperity. Government has a role to play by producing jobs and stoking the economy. The Congressional Progressive Caucus, which I co-chair with Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) has called for aggressive job creation including in the public and transportation sectors. Unfortunately, Republican leadership has prevented Congress from voting on any jobs legislation--in fact we haven't even passed a long-term extension of the transportation bill.

"The problem is clear and so is the solution. It's time for Congress to help put Americans back to work."

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