Portman Statement on August's Unemployment Report

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) released the following statement regarding the new August unemployment figures out today, with the jobless rate remaining at 9.1 percent with zero new jobs created:

“It is important to remember that today’s jobs numbers from the Department of Labor are not simply statistics, they are 14 million families struggling to make ends meet, 14 million dreams postponed.  With this level of stubborn joblessness, temporary Washington sweeteners won't work.  The administration has tried them and they’ve failed.  Businesses think long term.  Washington should too, with a permanent job creation agenda to unleash the untapped potential of the American economy.”

“More speeches won’t solve this problem, nor will more political posturing.  Commonsense, bipartisan ideas, like encouraging energy development here at home, increasing exports by ratifying the pending trade agreements, eliminating overly onerous and anti-growth regulations, and creating more competitive tax code should be agreed upon immediately to get the nation back on the right path.” 

Portman, who recently drafted the Senate Republican Jobs Plan as a way to jump-start our economy, highlighted seven steps to create jobs and grow the economy in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.