Maloney Statement on December employment numbers

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) issued the following statement on today’s release of employment data for  December, 2010:

In the 111th Congress, I served as the Chair of the Joint Economic Committee and followed the monthly employment numbers closely.  So I am particularly pleased that we ended 2010 on a positive note with a gain of 113,000 private sector jobs---that is 12 straight months of private sector job gains.  During 2010, more than 1.3 million private sector positions were added, the most since 2006.  In the last three months of 2010, the economy added almost 400,000 jobs.

We are starting 2011 on a solid note.   The tax package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in December will help to spur additional growth and job creation in 2011.  That package included some of the best, most effective policies for jumpstarting job growth, including a full year of unemployment insurance benefits and a 2 percent payroll tax cut for working families.  The extension of the middle-tax cuts also will help to boost the economy.

To be sure, we still have our work cut out for us.   Too many Americans haven’t felt the recovery.  But we are making progress.  Last December, we lost 83,000 private sector jobs.   This December, we added 113,000 private sector positions.  We’re in better shape now, and the recovery is gaining strength.

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