The U.S. economy added 98,000 new, nonfarm payroll jobs in March, dropping the unemployment rate from 4.7 percent to 4.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate is the lowest since May 2007. The labor force participation rate held steady at 63.0 percent.
“The headline number of this jobs report is disappointing; the economy clearly should be generating higher job growth. However, the unemployment rate fell to the lowest rate since before the recession,” Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH), chairman of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), said. “The findings of Wednesday’s Joint Economic Committee hearing on the disparate recovery and declining opportunity reaffirmed that we need to repeal burdensome regulations and overhaul our outdated tax code to give job creators the freedom and flexibility they need to grow and hire to drive our economy forward.”
Martin Heinrich (D-NM), ranking member of the JEC, said the jobs report shows there are still challenges ahead that the administration must address.
“President Trump and Republicans should focus on job creation and raising wages. The success of our economy will be tied to whether we take the bold steps necessary to connect people with the opportunities that will exist tomorrow and help grow the earnings of America’s middle class. A lot of work remains to be done to ensure that all of us have a shot at getting ahead,” Heinrich said. “President Trump promised that he would be ‘the greatest jobs producer that God ever created.’ Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee will hold him to this promise.”
In the late 1990s, the economy averaged 269,000 new jobs per month, according to data from JEC Democrats. “President Trump’s numbers show that he has yet to live up to his promise,” Heinrich said.