Senator Menendez: First Drop In Employment Since 2003 Troubling

By newsdesk - Posted on February 4th, 2008

Department of Labor reported loss of 17,000 jobs in January; Shows Need For Unemployment Insurance In Stimulus Package, Says Sen. Menendez

February 1, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Labor reported that the economy lost 17,000 jobs in the month of January, the first monthly loss of jobs in more than four years. This news comes amidst fears of a looming recession.

Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Banking and Budget Committees, today expressed serious concern over the report and reiterated the need for an extension of unemployment insurance in an economic stimulus package.

“Seven years of economic policies geared toward the super-wealthy along with record debt and deficits and a costly war in Iraq have brought us to this point, where Americans are losing jobs and a recession is a real possibility,” said Senate Menendez. “The struggles of working Americans have been brushed aside by this administration for as long as it has been in office.

“The economic stimulus package that we are working on in Congress won’t magically erase all of the underlying economic problems we face, but it does have the potential to give a boost. We need to act quickly to approve the Senate version of the stimulus plan, which is targeted to the people who have basic needs to cover. With unemployment on the rise, as today’s report shows, the inclusion of unemployment insurance in the package has become all the more important. Americans who are out of work badly need coverage to keep them afloat while they look for a job, and they are likely to spend immediately, which is the first goal of stimulus.”

Other recent economic indicators:

The number of laid-off workers filing for unemployment benefits increased by 69,000 to 375,000 last week according to the Department of Labor, the highest level for jobless claims since the week of Oct. 8, 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The unemployment rate increased to 5 percent in December, from 4.7 percent in November, the biggest one-month increase since after the September 2001 terrorist attacks.

Gross domestic product grew just 0.6% last quarter, a sharp slowdown from the 4.9% pace in the previous quarter.

Source: Senator Bob Menendez

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