Washington- The Bureau of Labor Statistics today reported that nationwide unemployment increased from 9.8 percent in September to 10.2 percent in October.

Rep. Pitts statement follows:

"Unemployment surged yesterday to a new high, showing that even more Americans are now searching for work. Tomorrow, just a day after the release of these figures, the House will consider legislation that could kill even more jobs.

"Speaker Pelosi's healthcare bill will raise billions of dollars in new taxes on businesses large and small. According to the House Committee on Ways and Means analysis based on figures from the Congressional Budget Office, this could lead to more than 5.5 million more lost jobs.

“How can we expect employers to create new jobs when we are making it more expensive for them to do business? We need to get America working again and a government takeover of healthcare will only create new jobs for bureaucrats and tax collectors."

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