Unemployment Rate Reaches New Low
A new report by the Department of Labor shows that the unemployment rate has fallen to a new low. It also states that over 200,000 jobs were added in Dec. 2011, which is a good sign for the economy.
The report, out today, says that the unemployment rate has fallen to 8.5 percent, the lowest it has been since Feb. 2009. Job creation increased significantly in the areas of manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, construction, health care, and retail.
According to the Department of Labor, “Over the past 12 months, nonfarm payroll employment has risen by 1.6 million. Employment in the private sector rose by 212,000 in Dec. and by 1.9 million over the year.”
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President Obama has pushed job creation throughout his presidency, especially given that he inherited a 7.8 percent unemployment rate. The American Jobs Act, which would have cut the payroll tax in half for 98 percent of businesses, added a payroll tax holiday for new workers and promoted small business was proposed by Obama in Oct. but was rejected by Congress.
In order to further help the economy, the White House announced a new program for youth that will help provide them with job opportunities. President Obama announced yesterday, “America’s young people face record unemployment, and we need to do everything we can to make sure they’ve got the opportunity to earn the skills and a work ethic that come with a job.”
The program, titled Summer Jobs+ “is a call to action for businesses, non-profits, and government to work together to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth in the summer of 2012.”
Obama has stated, “Without a doubt, the most urgent challenge that we face right now is getting our economy to grow faster and to create more jobs…we can’t wait for an increasingly dysfunctional Congress to do its job. Where they won’t act, I will.”
