Kildee Statement on Unemployment Rate Dropping to 9.4%, Lowest Level in 19 Months

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) released the following statement on the Department of Labor’s December jobs report:

 “While our work is far from over, today’s jobs report is strong evidence that the policies put in place by President Obama and the last Congress are helping to create jobs and revitalize our economy. After 12 straight months of private sector growth, our economy added 103,000 jobs in December, helping to lower the unemployment rate to 9.4 percent. While unemployment is still unacceptably high, it is now at its lowest level in 19 months and I am confident that we are moving in the right direction. In fact, over the last three months the economy has added an average of 128,000 jobs. This success shows that we must continue our work to support small businesses, promote domestic manufacturing, provide tax relief to the middle class and put an end to policies that encourage companies to ship jobs overseas. 

While today’s report is good news, there are still too many families in my district and across the country for whom the recovery is not happening quickly or vigorously enough. As always, I will continue to fight for unemployment benefits and other assistance to help these families make it through this difficult time as our economy strengthens,” said Congressman Kildee.