The White House
President George W. Bush
Print this document

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 2, 2007

Fact Sheet: October 2007 Marks Record 50th Consecutive Month of Job Growth
8.31 Million Jobs Created Since August 2003 In Longest Continuous Months Of Job Growth On Record

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released new jobs figures – 166,000 jobs created in October.  Since August 2003, 8.31 million jobs have been created, with 1.68 million jobs created over the 12 months that ended in October.  Our economy has now added jobs for 50 straight months – the longest period of uninterrupted job growth on record. The unemployment rate remains low at 4.7 percent. 

The U.S. Economy Remains Strong, Flexible, And Dynamic

To Keep Our Economy Strong, Congress Must Keep Taxes Low And Be Responsible With American Taxpayers' Money

Congress should pass the 12 annual spending bills one at a time in a fiscally responsible manner.  Even though Fiscal Year 2008 began 33 days ago, Congress has failed to send a single spending bill to the President's desk – the worst record for a Congress in 20 years. 

The Democrats proposed $205 billion in additional spending over the next five years.  In addition, Congressional Democrats have proposed tax increases in the farm bill, the energy bill, the small business bill, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill.

Congress should work with the administration on an SCHIP reauthorization bill that puts poor children first.  Instead, the House and Senate have passed an SCHIP bill that raises taxes to move two million children from private health insurance to a government run program. This bill repeals the requirement that 95 percent of children below 200 percent of the Federal poverty level be covered before coverage is extended to new children from higher income families, it still allows states to cover adults, and it costs more over the next five years than the bill the President vetoed four weeks ago. 

Congressional leaders should also stand by their commitment to consider pending free trade agreements with Peru, Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.  These free trade agreements will create better-paying jobs for American workers and farmers, and provide new opportunities for American entrepreneurs.

# # #


Return to this article at:
/news/releases/2007/11/text/20071102.html

Print this document