Pelosi Statement on June Jobs Report: Sixth Straight Month of Job Losses

Contact:Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi today released the following statement after the Department of Labor released its employment report for June showing a loss of 62,000 jobs, and an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent. The economy has lost 438,000 jobs in the past six months:

"The news that America has experienced its sixth straight month of job losses is no surprise to most Americans; they feel the economic anxiety and uncertainty every day - as they worry about their own employment, and as they face the rising prices at the pump and at the grocery store.

"Under Democratic leadership, Congress has passed extended unemployment benefits that will help 3.5 million Americans pay their bills as they look for a job, and provide much needed stimulus to our economy. Most Americans have now also received their Recovery Rebates which Congress passed in January, providing $107 billion to more than 130 million American families. To strengthen our energy independence and help American families, we have enacted new vehicle fuel efficiency standards that will save families up to $1,000 per year, and suspended oil purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We are finalizing a comprehensive foreclosure prevention package to help the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are struggling to stay in their homes and passed legislation to curb speculation in energy markets. And we are committed to doing even more as America's workers struggle in this economy.

"Democrats in Congress are striving to work in a bipartisan way to address the nation's serious economic challenges. Our nation has had six straight months of job losses, and we cannot afford any delay in making progress to create jobs and rebuild the American economy."