As Job Report Shows 80,000 Lost Jobs, Murray Calls for Investment in Summer Jobs Program

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following statement today after the Department of Labor’s monthly employment report revealed that 80,000 jobs had been cut by U.S. employers in March. This is the third straight month that significant numbers of jobs have been lost.

Last month, Murray, Chairman of the Senate Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee, introduced the Summer Jobs Stimulus Act of 2008 – S. 2755, which authorizes $1 billion for youth activities under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). – Details

"The labor statistics released today paint a grim picture for our economy and for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet.  These numbers are a reminder that digging out of this financial crisis will take more than just cutting interest rates and changing lending laws. It’s time for this Administration to care as much about Main Street as they do about Wall Street.

"The problems we face demand solutions that Americans will see in their pocketbooks and in their daily lives. If employers are slashing jobs we need to find new ways to create them. One way to do that is to invest in a summer jobs program that will put young people to work and energize local economies."

View details of Senator Murray’s Summer Jobs legislation.

Latest Department of Labor Job Statistics  

• Teenage unemployment is 15.8%.
• The overall rate went from 4.8% to 5.1%, the highest national number since Katrina hit in September of 2005.
•  The number of unemployed persons increased by 434,000, to 7.8 million in March.
• Since March of 2007, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 1.1 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 0.7%.
•  Over the last 12 months, the number of unemployed job losers has increased by 914,000.
• Total payroll declined by 80,000 jobs last month and has declined by 232,000 over the last 3 months.
• Employment in construction declined by 51,000 in March and has fallen by 394,000 since December of 2006.
• Manufacturing employment fell by 48,000 in March and by 310,000 over the past 12 months.