WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) today released the following statement on the nation’s January unemployment report, which showed a decrease in the unemployment rate from 8.5 percent to 8.3 percent:

“It’s good to see that there has been some improvement in the unemployment rate and that people are starting to get back to work. However, this doesn’t take into account the 3 million person reduction in labor force participation compared to pre-recession levels. If those people were still counted within the labor force, the unemployment rate would be 10 percent, which is a more accurate gauge of the current jobs environment.  So clearly, we still need to do a lot more to get the economy moving in the right direction and to help so many struggling families.

“Washington must get control of its staggering debt and deficits, reform the tax code to make America more competitive, stop the job killing overregulation, enact an energy policy that stops our dependence on foreign oil, and reduce health care costs.”