Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on a report from the Department of Labor which stated that 252,000 jobs were added to our economy in December. Nearly three million jobs were created in 2014, the highest total since 1999.

“When President Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009, our economy was in crisis. With each month, hundreds of thousands of workers were losing their jobs. Graduates of college and job training programs could not find work. Many people believed that the United States could have another Great Depression. But as a nation we persevered. I worked with President Obama and my colleagues in Congress to enact the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which saved millions of jobs. We reduced taxes for every American family. We also developed the Affordable Care Act, which has created many additional jobs in health care, even as it lower the rate of increase in spending on health care. These policies have supported the renewal of our economy, and demonstrate that we must continue to invest in the American people,” said Congresswoman Clarke.

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.