President Biden
Former ISIS member Joe Biden pleads guilty to kidnapping, US defense deaths and national security – Mental scars from Afghanistan Bidens visit injured service members Walter Reed MORE on Friday he acknowledged a disappointing August employment report that blamed much of the rise in COVID-19 cases, arguing that his administration’s broad plans have been effective in turning the economy around.
Biden spoke shortly after the Department of Labor published data Friday morning, where U.S. employers added just 235,000 jobs last month, well below the 750,000 economists forecast.
“There is no doubt that the delta variant is why the current labor report is not stronger,” Biden said in prepared statements. “I know people were looking for and expecting a higher number. But next week I will outline the next steps we will need to take to combat the delta variant to address some of these fears and concerns. “
The president said the path to economic recovery depended on controlling the pandemic, as well as that Congress pass a $ 1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that has already reached the Senate, as well as a package of multimillion-dollar reconciliation that contains other priorities of Biden’s economic agenda such as health care and climate policy.
Biden said he would explain next week how schools and businesses could explode the effects of the delta variant, which has caused U.S. infections to reach figures not seen since last winter’s deadly rise. .
He also urged Congress to do quick work to send infrastructure and reconciliation bills to his office this month, although the proposed size of the measure is only democratic. run into the opposition of the Sen. Joe Manchin
Joe The Manchin: On The Money: Manchin puts a brake on Biden spending Progressives hit Manchin after telling colleagues to pause Biden’s .5T plan Overnight Energy & Environment – Presented by the Institute American Petroleum. (DW.Va.).
“The third thing we need to do is stay together,” Biden added. “So let’s move on. Let’s move on together.”
The president acknowledged several times that he expected to see a higher number of jobs in the August report, but he and other officials were quick to point to the overall fall in unemployment from 5.4% to 5, 2%, and have stated that economic growth may not be linear as the country opens the way out of the pandemic.
Biden noted that the economy has gained jobs each of the seven months since he took office, noting the approval of a $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package earlier this year as the key reason for which.
“This jobs report shows the steps we have taken, approving the rescue plan and vaccinating 175 million people, making our economy able to grow and add jobs even in the face of this growing delta growth said Biden.
Still, the disappointing job report was another difficult headline for Biden in recent weeks. The president spent August facing the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and subsequent struggles to oust all Americans from the country, and natural disasters have shaken the Gulf coast, the northeastern and western U.S..
Falling restaurant reserves, air travel and other key drivers of the recovery raised red flags on August job recruitment.
The stagnant growth in employment in leisure and hospitality, one of the areas of the economy most vulnerable to COVID-19, is another alarming sign of the pace of recovery. The sector added an average of 350,000 monthly jobs since February and remains 1.7 million in the hole from its peak in 2020, the Department of Labor said.