Today, the Department of Labor released May’s job statistics report which indicated that the United States added 54,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last month, with the national unemployment rate rising from 9.0 percent in April to 9.1 percent.  New York City’s unemployment rate for May sits at 8.6 percent.  Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement:

“This is a clear indication that Congress needs to focus on producing legislation, initiatives, and policies that help create more jobs and stimulate the economy.  As alarming as a 9.1 percent unemployment rate may seem, the unemployment rate among African Americans is double that sitting at 16.2 percent and 11.9 percent among Hispanic Americans.  It is time for this Republican Majority Congress to stop recognizing that tax cuts for the rich as any sort of solution to addressing the deficit and economic growth. 

“As a Member of the House Small Business Committee, I believe that we must provide our nation’s small businesses, particularly women and minority owned businesses, with the tools they need to access capital and create real growth.  Small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms and employ over half of all private sector employees.  Know that I will continue to fight for the prosperity of small businesses and work towards the creation of policies that help our Nation recover from this economic downturn.”

Click here to check out Rep. Yvette D. Clarke speak to experts at Small Business Committee Hearing on finding solutions for small business to create jobs.

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