The White House says it is doing a very good job on the economy and asked Congress on Friday to refrain from screwing it up.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a gain of 321,000 jobs in November — much higher than the 2014 average of 214,000 jobs per month and well above some economists November prediction of 230,000. The average work week and hourly wage also increased slightly.
The White House touted the positive gains in a statement Friday, pointing to 57 straight months of job growth, which is the longest streak on record, and 10.9 million added private sector jobs.
Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, urged Congress not to shut down the government and to avoid creating “disruptive and counterproductive fiscal uncertainty” that could hurt the economy.
“We have an opportunity to work together to support the continued growth of higher-paying jobs by investing in infrastructure, reforming the business tax code, expanding markets for America’s goods and services, making common sense reforms to the immigration system, and increasing the minimum wage,” Furman said in the statement.
Angry Republicans have been working out their response to President Obama’s recent executive order to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants and some fear it could spark another government shutdown.
Congress is expected to move forward with House Speaker John Boehner’s plan to fund the government through 2015, with the exception of immigration agencies, which would only be funded for 60 days. (RELATED: Boehner Allows Obama’s Amnesty).
Despite the job growth, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8 percent, and about 31 percent of those actively looking for a job have been unemployed for nearly two months or more.
And just over 40 percent, or 2 in 5 Americans are not working. That’s 92.4 million people, according to ranking Senate Budget Committee member Jeff Sessions. And weekly median earnings are actually lower today than they were in 2000, if adjusted for inflation.
“While there was some modest improvement in this morning’s jobs report headline, millions of Americans felt another month go by out of work and with little hope of finding a job,” Sessions said in a statement. “The report gives the appearance of progress, but progress is hard to establish when the country has more people overall but less people working.”
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