Treasury Official Notes Continued Gains In Private Sector

Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary Alan Krueger held a briefing this morning to discuss the July unemployment figures. Krueger trumpted the fact that the private sector added jobs for the seventh straight month.

“We still have a long way to go before the economy is generating all of the jobs we need for the labor force,” he said. “Nonetheless, the fact that private sector employment has expanded for seven months in a row and that weekly work hours are recovering are indications that we are moving in the right direction.

Pelosi Blames GOP For Lackluster Job Numbers

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) just released the following statement regarding a report showing the unemployment rate remained at 9.5% during the month of July:

“This jobs report shows private employers and businesses taking the lead in our economic recovery — and a sharp turnaround from the 700,000 jobs per month lost under President Bush — despite Congressional Republicans fighting against the economic recovery every step of the way.”

“Today’s report shows our teachers, police officers, firefighters, and nurses are still feeling the worst of the Bush recession — while Republican leaders demean them as ‘special interests’ and try to block legislation that will grow our economy.  Democrats will return next week to save or create hundreds of thousands of jobs for our teachers, nurses, firefighters and police officers — and close loopholes that allow corporations to ship American jobs overseas.‪”