Press Releases

Congressman Larry Bucshon (IN-08) released the following comment in regards to the May jobless rate.  The rate increased to 8.2 percent, up from 8.1 percent the previous month.

Congressman Bucshon (IN-08) states:

“I’m disturbed that for the 40th consecutive month, the unemployment rate continues to stagnate above 8 percent. Unfortunately for Americans, the labor market has remained flat over the past three years under President Obama, who continues to recycle his failed economic policies.

“With college students graduating and entering the workforce, they are met by difficult circumstances.  It is an unwelcoming job market for young adults that have educated themselves with the goal of being productive members to society.

“A week ago, I was proud to partner with the City of Evansville and WorkOne Southwest to host a Jobs Fair in Evansville.  Working together to help match employers and job seekers helps in the process of getting Hoosiers back to work.  I will continue to advocate for an environment that encourages businesses to grow and expand and will get our economy back on track.”

Background:

According to data from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, after the same amount of time following a recession, the average job growth in the past 10 recoveries was 6.9 percent. Under President Obama, jobs have grown by just 1.9 percent.

According to The Detroit News in a 5/16/12 article, the employment rate of people age 18-24 who are working has dropped from 62.4 percent in 2007 to 54 percent in 2010 — the lowest since the government began tracking this data in 1948.

The unemployment rate has been over 8 percent for 40 consecutive months beginning in February 2009. This is the longest stretch of high unemployment since monthly records have been kept, beginning in 1948.

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