On the recordJune 23, 2010
near the end of May, we learned that the unemployment rate in my home State of Illinois had fallen to about 10.8 percent, down from 11.2 percent in March. That is the first time the unemployment rate has gone down since 2006, when it stood at only 4.4 percent. I am the first to celebrate the creation of even a single well-paying job. I am happy for each and every Illinoisan we can put back to work because one job will help someone put food on the table, and it will help one family stand just a little taller. It will give people the opportunity to participate in the economy again, buying the goods and services they need. That, in turn, means more jobs. One by one, these folks will turn our economy around from the bottom up. So I do not dismiss this recent jobs report. This is a step in the right direction. It is welcome news. But it is only a drop in the bucket. For every person we have put back to work, many others are still hurting--and hurting badly. Our landmark stimulus law, which we enacted more than a year ago, has done a great deal to stop the economy from collapsing and set Americans back on the road to recovery. The economy is growing again. Many key indicators have turned around. I am proud to say the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been instrumental in preventing a second Great Depression. But job creation continues to lag behind. We have made progress in some areas, but we still have a long way to go.
