Detroit – Today, U.S. Representative John Conyers, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus made the following remarks about July’s paltry job growth numbers:

“July’s job growth numbers were released today and to no ones surprise, except for maybe those in the Bush Administration’s, they show that jobs are still hard to come by. The report released by the Labor Department today shows hiring by U.S. employers slowed significantly in July, with only 32,000 new net jobs being added. This marks the second smallest increase since December, when barely 8,000 jobs were created.”

“It seems like every day we hear President Bush say how his Jobs and Growth Package, with its supposed 1.1 million new jobs in the last three months, is good news for working families. So how did he react to July’s numbers, which marked the second month in a row where notably fewer jobs were created than were projected? He blamed it on a flaw in the way the Labor Department accounts for job growth, saying that the survey done of households was a more accurate reflection of job creation, than the traditional surveying of employers. Although, I seem to recall that back in March it was the household survey numbers that the Labor Department was dismissing as inaccurate. That’s a flip-flop if I ever heard one, we need jobs not excuses. ”
 
“On Bush’s campaign website he talks about how he has ‘acted decisively to help create jobs and get Americans back to work’ and claiming there is ‘widespread evidence his policies have worked.’ Well Mr. Bush, let me cite some real numbers for you. Since you took office our country has lost 1.1 million jobs, 327,666 in Michigan alone and 87,942 since the beginning of this year. We need real jobs here in Michigan, not empty promises.  An empty promise never put bread on the table and gas in the tank.”

“It’s time for change in this country. We need a President with a real plan to create jobs and keep the ones we have from being shipped overseas. We don’t need a “Commander and Chef” who hides his dismal record on employment by redefining “flipping hamburgers” as manufacturing jobs.”

“The Country needs a fresh start on job creation; we must have a President that understands how to create manufacturing jobs, and how to keep them here. Bush has shown no leadership in this area, given his administration has seen the largest net loss of manufacturing jobs since Herbert Hoover. The Administration needs to put forward a common sense plan to create more manufacturing jobs in the United States by providing tax breaks and other economic incentives so that manufacturers do not relocate to other countries with a cheaper labor force. We do not need four more years of these failed policies of “tax cuts for the rich.” 

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