Pelosi: 'Slight Jobs Increase Far From Enough -- We Must Do More to Create Jobs and Growth'

October 3, 2003

Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics announcement that the unemployment rate stayed at 6.1 percent, the number of manufacturing jobs lost increased by 29,000, the number of non-farm payroll jobs increased by 57,000 and the number of long-term unemployed increased by more than 150,000 people:

"The slight increase in jobs last month is wonderful news for 57,000 Americans. But the 2.1 million Americans who have been actively looking for work for more than two years and the 5 million Americans who are working part-time but want to work full-time know that it is far from enough.

"We must do more to create jobs and growth. Long-term unemployment is rising, manufacturing jobs are still being shed, household incomes are falling, and the number of people without health insurance is rising. The economy is in crisis.

"President Bush’s economic plan -- massive tax cuts for the wealthy -- has not created jobs. It has only created debt that is mortgaging our children's future for a tax break that benefits those who need it least."

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