News & Press

Statement by Martha Roby on Today’s Unemployment Numbers

(MONTGOMERY, AL) – Councilwoman Martha Roby, Republican candidate for Alabama’s Second Congressional District, issued the following statement today on the release of unemployment figures for the month of December:

“In Alabama and all across the country families are hurting right now. The 85,000 jobs lost last month and an unemployment rate in double digits are more than just statistics for the laid-off worker who’s been looking for work for months, or the family struggling to get by on one paycheck. Even after a $787 billion stimulus package that Democrats promised would create millions of jobs, unemployment continues to hover at a painful level. It’s clear that the Democrats in Washington have us stuck in neutral with high taxes and job-killing policies. There’s a better way to create real, good-paying jobs. We need to make it easier for businesses to grow and create jobs and entrepreneurs to start businesses, with lower taxes and less burdensome regulation. Only then will we put the Second District and the rest of the country back to work.”  

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DESPITE ROSIER EXPECTATIONS…UNEMPLOYMENT REMAINS IN DOUBLE DIGITS

“The nation shed 85,000 jobs in December, worse than expected, according to a government report released Friday that suggests the economic recovery still is too weak to lead employers to add to their payrolls…The unemployment rate was unchanged at 10 percent, the Labor Department said. Forecasters had expected zero net change in the number of jobs on U.S. payrolls, and some had had expected job growth to return. Those expectations were dashed by a report that -- while not without bright spots -- suggested that the long slog toward an improved labor market continued in December.” (“Economy loses 85k jobs in Dec., Unemployment rate stays pat at 10 percent,” by Neil Irwin, Washington Post, 1/8/2010)

“The U.S. economy shed a larger-than-expected 85,000 jobs in December, a disappointing finish to a year that saw more than 4 million jobs disappear, according to a government report today…The unemployment rate last month held steady at 10%, but only because more people dropped out of the workforce.” (“Unemployment rate stays at 10% in December but job losses more than expected,” by Don Lee, LA Times, 1/8/2010)

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PROMISED THE $787 BILLION STIMULUS WOULD CREATE MILLIONS OF JOBS

In February, Obama Signed $787 Billion Stimulus Bill, Claiming It Would “Fix The Economy.” “President Obama on Tuesday signed the $787 billion stimulus package ... ‘We have begun the essential work of keeping the American dream alive in our time,’ Obama said, calling the legislation ‘the beginning of the end’ of what needed to be done to fix the economy.”  (Michael A. Fletcher, “Obama Leaves D.C. To Sign Stimulus Bill,” The Washington Post, 2/18/09)

And Obama Pledged That Stimulus Would Create 3.5 Million Jobs By End Of 2010. “[W]hat makes this recovery plan so important is not just that it will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years ...” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act, Denver, CO, 2/17/09)