House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) defended President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy Friday. (AP)
On the heels of September’s mixed unemployment report, the Congressional Black Caucus renewed its call for President Barack Obama and Congress to do something to specifically address the nation’s high black joblessness rate.
The country’s unemployment rate remained stuck at 9.6 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. The economic monthly report was a mix of good news and bad. The good: The private sector added 64,000 jobs last month. The bad: Government agencies cut 159,000 jobs, many of them federal Census workers and state and local employees.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the September numbers highlight the need for Congress and the White House to take more concrete steps to reduce unemployment, especially in the black community.
“Unemployment rates for African-Americans and Latinos remain unbearably high at 16.1 percent and 12.4 percent; chronic unemployment is also a very serious issue that needs to be addressed,” Lee said. “Forty-one point seven percent of unemployed persons have been jobless for 27 weeks or more, signifying the need for job creation in minority communities that are most seriously affected by a recession.”
The black unemployment rate is close to twice the national average. Some black jobless categories – most notably among teens – hovered in the 40-50 percent range. Some studies this year indicated that recent black college graduates were having difficulty finding work because they were competing with more experienced, often white workers who were laid off.
“The Congressional Black Caucus is committed to working hard for communities that are struggling and in desperate need of help,” Lee said. “We continue to push for job creation to address the needs of persons chronically unemployed.”
But Obama has steadfastly resisted calls for targeted remedies to ease minority unemployment. The nation’s first black president has said he prefers an economic strategy that lifts all boats.
While the Black Caucus has called for action, Obama’s approach has been approved by several black leaders including the Rev. Al Sharpton, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous and National Urban League head Marc Morial.
And House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), a Black Caucus member and the highest-ranking black elected official in Congress, defended Obama’s handling of the economy Friday and chastised Republicans who dared to try to make election hay against Democrats for a bad economy that began to sour under former President George W. Bush’s watch.
“Unfortunately Republicans are promising a return to the ‘exact same’ failed policies that caused the Great Recession in the first place,” Clyburn said in a statement. “Their budget-busting policies would explode the deficit, privatize Social Security and put insurance companies back in charge of your health care. We simply cannot afford to turn back the clock.”
“You can’t discount the numbers,” Clyburn added. “This year alone, we added more private sector jobs than eight years of Republican majority and the Bush presidency."
Still, Clyburn said, Obama and congressional Democrats have more to do to right the nation’s economy.
“The September jobs report demonstrates that we have turned our economy around and are creating jobs,” Clyburn said. “While we still have a long way to go before our economic recovery is complete, Democrats are committed to doing everything possible to move our country forward.”
No comments:
Post a Comment