Job Creation (March 2011)

In recent months, the national unemployment rate has shown some signs of improvement. The stimulus and Democratic policies of the last two years have helped avoid a depression, but we are nowhere near the finish line. And a deeper look at the numbers demonstrates that this tepid recovery is not reaching every community.

Recent weeks have witnessed vastly different approaches to course correction for our country’s recessed economy. From debt ceilings to deficit reductions, Democrats and Republicans diverge on the best vehicle to reinvigorate American’s fiscal viability and workforce sustainability. Nowhere is this more obvious than education.

House Republicans have spent the first two months of the 112th Congress debating and passing one job creation bill after another.

Our nation is facing one of the toughest economic climates since the Great Depression. The unemployment rate has been at 8.9 percent or more for 23 months. The amount of time that the average job seeker is unemployed is about 37 weeks, the highest average in history. These staggering statistics don’t just represent numbers — they represent real people and real families who are suffering across America. The only way to improve this bleak economic situation is by getting people back to work.