Positive Jobs Report Obscures Major Obstacles To Growth

The unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent in September, down from August’s 8.1 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ jobs report released today.

Gretchen Hamel, executive director of Public Notice, issued the following statement:

“Today’s announcement that the unemployment rate has dropped to 7.8 percent is a thin veneer on a turbulent economy. Right now we’re treading water with a low labor participation rate, and this report is confirmation that growth is still sluggish at best. With the national deficit topping $1 trillion for a fourth straight year and the fiscal cliff threatening to throw us back into a recession, there is hardly cause for celebration. Americans are worried, and we can’t afford to wait any longer for Washington to get its act together and get our economy back on track.”

While Washington may tout a decrease in unemployment, a closer look at the numbers across the states tells a different story.