March employment numbers show few Americans rejoining workforce

WASHINGTON, DC – Employment numbers for March show payroll employment gains of 216,000 and an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent.

“Given how weak this recovery has been, even moderate job growth is welcome,” says U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the Joint Economic Committee. “But looking at the bigger picture, 21 months after the recession ended we are still down more than 7.2 million jobs. That’s not acceptable by any standard.”

A key to sustainable economic growth is the size of the U.S. labor force which is the lowest since the mid 1980’s, says Brady. That makes the unemployment rate look more attractive for the wrong reasons, he says.

“There’s no reason to celebrate a lower unemployment rate caused by more Americans leaving the workforce and fewer entering it. A small workforce means millions of discouraged workers, lower output in the future and a weak recovery. Those are unhealthy signs,” Brady points out.

The solution, he says, is to lower barriers to business investment which creates jobs along Main Street. “Rather than spending more, Congress can help by doing less – less deficit spending, less taxes and less extreme regulations that drive up costs for businesses of all sizes.”