John Yarmuth: “every month this year our economy has shed more jobs than it has produced. Last month was no exception; 49,000 jobs were…”

“every month this year our economy has shed more jobs than it has produced. Last month was no exception; 49,000 jobs were lost nationwide and unemployment rose from 5 percent in April to 5.5 percent in May. That is the largest 1 month increase in 20 years. As job losses continue on a monthly basis, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the unemployed to find jobs, and it is expected to get even worse. That is why last month this Congress passed legislation to extend unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks. Today, more than 1 million people have exhausted all of their benefits. Washington should provide these workers some additional relief as they continue to pursue a job through these rough times. Yet President Bush and congressional Republicans oppose the unemployment insurance extension, even though they supported a similar extension in 2002 when economic conditions were not nearly as hard as they are today. Madam Speaker, the May jobs report should serve as a wake-up call to President Bush and congressional Republicans to support our efforts to extend unemployment insurance.”