"Today's jobs numbers are another painful, and for too many, a very personal reminder of how the Bush Administration's economic strategy has failed American workers. It should be as apparent to the President and to Republicans as it is to the American people that we need another economic recovery package to get our economy growing again.
"Time and again, Democrats have reached across the aisle to move our country in a New Direction that values and rewards the hard work of the American people with an economy that helps them not only pay the bills, but achieve the American Dream. We have worked in a bipartisan way to extend unemployment benefits for 3.5 million workers, provide 130 million American households with Recovery Rebates, increase the Minimum Wage, make college more affordable, and enact higher vehicle fuel efficiency standards that will save drivers up to $1,000 each year.
"Today's job numbers reinforce the need for action and the New Direction Congress will continue to work in a bipartisan way to restore America's economic strength, create jobs, and increase wages."
State of the Bush Economy
- The unemployment rate climbed to 5.7 percent - the highest level in more than four years (March 2004).
- America suffered the seventh straight month of job losses of 51,000 in July, and those job losses have totaled 463,000 this year.
- The number of people looking for work climbed to 8.8 million in July. Nearly one in five of those looking for work have been jobless for six months or more.
- Average weekly earnings continue to fail to keep pace with inflation - up only 3.4 percent over the last year. Rising prices have pushed inflation up 5 percent over the past 12 months.
- Food prices have risen at an annualized rate of 8 percent over the last three months.
- Retail gas prices are at $3.90 a gallon - more than double that of 2001 - after peaking at $4.11 in July. They are projected to remain over $4 per gallon through next year. Diesel prices remain at near record levels - $4.68 a gallon, three times the cost in 2001. In July, the price of a barrel of oil reached a new record of $147 per barrel, more than four times when Bush took office (today it is at $123).
- Meanwhile, oil companies continue to report record profits, with Exxon Mobil posting the largest quarterly profits for an American company in history of nearly $12 billion in the 2nd quarter. Profits of the big five oil companies are projected to be over $160 billion this year.
