The Labor Department’s release Friday of an abysmal jobs report showing that U.S. hiring slowed dramatically in November served as another occasion for Democratic lawmakers, progressive advocacy groups, and economists to demand that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell end his months-long obstruction of a desperately needed coronavirus relief package.
Devoid of any “silver linings”, the fresh jobs numbers further undercut the Kentucky Republican’s argument just last month that the economy is trending in the right direction and therefore requires less stimulus to drag it out of recessionary territory. According to Friday’s report, the U.S. added just 245,000 jobs in November, down from 610,000 in October and the fifth consecutive month hiring has slowed.
“Congress knows how to help workers and families. It knows how to prevent the looming recession. One person is standing in the way. Mitch McConnell’s political games are costing lives and livelihoods.”
Sen. Ron Wyden
Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, warned that with key federal unemployment programs set to expire at the end of December and coronavirus infections on the rise nationwide, “millions of workers and their families are in for an even harsher winter” unless Congress takes decisive action. Continue reading.