STATEMENT FROM AFPI PRESIDENT/CEO BROOKE ROLLINS ON MAY JOBS REPORT

For the second month in a row, job growth has fallen well short of expectations. Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the May jobs report estimating that the economy added 559,000 jobs in May. While it is welcome news that over half a million Americans – after enduring over a year of unprecedented hardship – returned to work or found new jobs last month, this report also highlights the failure of the current administration’s economic policies. 

As vaccination rates rise and business restrictions across the country are lifted, job growth could be far more robust than what this spring has delivered. Instead, the Biden Administration’s $1.9 trillion “rescue” package has saddled future generations with a historic burden of debt, raised fears of inflation, disincentivized workers from returning to the workforce, and shown no signs of accelerating job growth.

By contrast, the policies of the previous administration prior to the pandemic were centered squarely on delivering prosperity for the forgotten men and women, the marginalized, and those on the economic fringes. These policies also delivered unprecedented relief during 2020 and set the United States on a path to the most robust recovery in history—one that has unfortunately slowed in recent months. 

An economic policy that puts American workers first does not discourage work itself. Governors across the country have led the charge to address worker shortages by reducing financial disincentives to work. Meanwhile, the federal government remains complacent. This complacency is a disservice to the nearly 8 million Americans who remain out of work.