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Committee on Ways and Means 

For Immediate Release
Contact: Press Office 202-225-8933
October 4, 2002

Unemployment Declines; More Jobs Created

WASHINGTON - Today, the Department of Labor reported that the unemployment rate fell from 5.7 percent in August to 5.6 percent in September.

“Despite Democrats’ claims that the economy is in freefall, the unemployment rate declined in September,” said Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA). “The hidden nugget in today’s report is the revision to August employment numbers. Nearly 107,000 jobs were created in August, not just the 39,000 jobs previously estimated.”

“It seems that the Democrats’ campaign to ‘talk down’ the economy isn’t having the intended effect,” Thomas added.

In previous decades, the average unemployment rate was higher than today's rate. The average unemployment rate for the 1980s was 7.3 percent, and for the 1990s it was 5.8 percent.

Furthermore, there are fewer numbers of unemployed than in previous recessions. In February 1983, there were 11.5 million unemployed, in June 1992, there were 10 million unemployed and in August 2002, there were 8.1 million unemployed.

Please click the links below for a copy of some charts.

Current Unemployment Rate Below Average for All of 1980s, 1990s and Fewer Unemployed Today than in Past Recessions