Senator Sherrod Brown's Statement on December Unemployment Figures

January 9, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) today reported that payroll numbers in December fell by 533,000 – for the twelfth straight month of job loss in the country. The nation’s unemployment rate jumped to 7.2 percent, from 6.8 percent in November.

In response, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) issued the following statement:

“Today marks the twelfth straight month of job loss for our country. In just two months alone, more than one million Americans lost their jobs. We are not only talking about numbers or percentages when it comes to unemployment. We are talking about families with mortgages and health care costs.

Ohioans don’t need statistics to tell them about the state our economy. Just this week, our state’s unemployment system crashed. Thousands of Ohioans are in need of assistance, and we need to act now. I will continue to work to pass an economic recovery plan that creates jobs and invests in the middle class.”

Republicans Will Provide Billions to Wall Street But Not Extend Unemployment Benefits

According to the website ProPublica, whose motto is "Journalism in the public interest", Republicans are blocking efforts to extend unemployment benefits to the jobless. This week, it is estimated that 800,000 workers who run out of unemployment benefits. Although bills have been introduced in both houses to extend such benefits by 13 weeks, Republican leaders wouldn't agree to add this to the bail-out bill.

Here is a quote from the article:

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Jim Manley, told ProPublica yesterday that Senate Republicans had "balked" at an attempt to attach an unemployment-benefits extension to the Wall Street rescue.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spokesman, Don Stewart, said any extension bill "would be subject to debate and amendments."

What that last part means is that the bill would be subject to the Senate Rules which allow 40 Senators to threaten to filibuster legislation, thus requiring a cloture vote to cut off debate. In the 1950s and 60s Southern Senators used this trick to deprive African-Americans of their rights. Now, Republicans use this tactic to deprive the unemployed of more aid.

Republicans: Billions for their friends on Wall Street, nothing for the unemployed of Main Street.

Columbus Dispatch Reports 2006 Manufacturing Job Losses

The Columbus Reported that 2006 tied 2003 for record number of job losses in Ohio's manufacturing sector. Ohio has now lost over 200,000 manufacturing jobs. It's percentage of people employed in manufacturing has gone from 17% of the work force down to 14%. A big reason is competition from overseas companies. This state is seeing the loss of good paying jobs.

The media likes to report on unemployment figures. Unemployment figures, though, are only the tip of the analysis. If you are replacing manufacturing jobs with service industry jobs and if such jobs don't pay as much, then consumers have less money to spend. Consumers spending less will eventually result in fewer jobs in the service sector. It means consumers having less money to spend on doctors, lawyers, insurance, dentists, and other professions who think their education will protect them from the effects of Ohio losing manufacturing jobs.