Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on December Jobs Report

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January 04, 2008 -- Today’s jobs report showing a spike in unemployment to five percent and the weakest job growth since August 2003 is the latest in a series of troubling signs that our economy may be slipping into recession.

Not since Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath has unemployment been as high as it is today – adding even more pressure to working families already being stretched to the limit by the subprime mortgage crisis, the credit card crunch and relentlessly rising health care costs. It’s especially disheartening that good, middle-class supporting jobs in manufacturing and construction were cut last month, continuing a disturbing trend.

Just a few weeks ago President Bush touted the economy as strong, despite abundant evidence to the contrary. It is astonishing that President Bush and his advisers won’t take their heads out of the sand long enough to realize our economy faces serious threats that need immediate action.

As a first step, Congress must enact an immediate moratorium on subprime mortgage foreclosures and work pro-actively to prevent that crisis from spilling dangerously into the economy. And on the fundamentals our president likes to tout, it’s time America does an economic about-face. Working families need an economy that works for all, not just the privileged few.

Source: AFL-CIO