Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) today released the following statement on the nation’s July jobs report, which showed the unemployment rate rising to 8.3 percent, as the economy failed to create enough jobs to keep pace with the population growth:

“Another disappointing jobs report, this one showing unemployment on the rise and not enough jobs being created to keep up with population growth. With now more than 12.8 million Americans looking for work, it is clear that current policies are not working to turn things around. 

“The report last week on weaker economic growth, coupled with the recent report showing U.S. manufacturing shrinking for the second month in a row, is bad news for Ohio families who are hoping that the economy gets back on the right track.

“We are heading in the wrong direction, and we need pro-growth, pro-jobs policies to get our economy up and running again and to restore confidence for families in Ohio and across the nation who are struggling to make ends meet amidst the weakest recovery since the Great Depression.”