U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the unemployment rate last month dipped to 8.1 percent, from 8.3 percent in July, despite weaker than expected job growth:
“This report paints a discouraging picture of 368,000 people dropping out of the workforce or just giving up on finding a job. Our labor participation rate is the lowest in a generation. Washington must do better for the millions of hardworking Americans who are waking up every day to an increasingly dispiriting job hunt. I just met with hundreds job seekers, right here in suburban Chicago at our job fair, and they are looking for a reason to be optimistic. We need to cut through the politics and create a climate for growth by stopping the looming tax hikes on Jan. 1 and moving ahead on tax reform, energy production, and dozens of other job priorities that remain stalled in Washington. We can’t afford to wait.”
