Marsha Blackburn said "I think it is becoming increasingly clear to anybody that's paying attention that this President's policies have failed and are making the economy worse. More Americans are out of work than when he took office. At that point, unemployment was 7.8 percent. America has witnessed the longest period of sustained high unemployment since the Great Depression, more than 8 percent for every month that he has been in office. When the President talks about the latest unemployment statistics, I think it's important that we look at more pressing issues, which is labor force participation. For the past 31 months, discouraged workers have been dropping out of the labor force in unprecedented numbers. In June 2009, which they like to say was the end of the recession--it was 6 months into his term--the labor force participation rate was 65.7 percent. Today, it is down to 63.7 percent. The difference between those two numbers represents 4.8 million people who have given up looking for work. If the labor force participation rate had remained where it was when he took office, at 65.7 percent, the unemployment rate for January 2012 would have been 11 percent, rather than 8.3. It is time for us to change policies. It is time for us to get America back to work. The American people continue to say, ``Where are the jobs?'' ___________________

On the recordFebruary 6, 2012

I think it is becoming increasingly clear to anybody that's paying attention that this President's policies have failed and are making the economy worse. More Americans are out of work than when he took office. At that point, unemployment was 7.8 percent. America has witnessed the longest period of sustained high unemployment since the Great Depression, more than 8 percent for every month that he has been in office. When the President talks about the latest unemployment statistics, I think it's important that we look at more pressing issues, which is labor force participation. For the past 31 months, discouraged workers have been dropping out of the labor force in unprecedented numbers. In June 2009, which they like to say was the end of the recession--it was 6 months into his term--the labor force participation rate was 65.7 percent. Today, it is down to 63.7 percent. The difference between those two numbers represents 4.8 million people who have given up looking for work. If the labor force participation rate had remained where it was when he took office, at 65.7 percent, the unemployment rate for January 2012 would have been 11 percent, rather than 8.3. It is time for us to change policies. It is time for us to get America back to work. The American people continue to say, ``Where are the jobs?'' ____________________

Said by

Marsha Blackburn

Republican · Tennessee

Source

govinfo.gov

Feb 6, 2012