Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the May 2024 jobs report:

“Under President Biden’s failed leadership, a paycheck doesn’t stretch as far as it once did, the economy is struggling, and small businesses are falling behind. The latest JOLTS survey earlier this week showed job openings fell in April to their lowest level in over three years. An estimate reported by Bloomberg shows that monthly nonfarm payroll prints may have overstated job growth by 730,000 last year.  And now the President wants to make matters worse by letting the 2017 Trump tax cuts expire and increase taxes as much as $7 trillion on America’s working families and businesses when the record of the Trump tax cuts is so clearly one of success. After all, American families saw their incomes rise by $5,000, and wages grew almost five percent. 

“At the Ways and Means Committee, our new Tax Teams are committed to protecting working families and small businesses from more ‘Bidenomics.’ Ways and Means Republicans are listening to the American people to get their ideas to get our country back on track while the Biden Administration continues to shower tax breaks on the wealthy and well-connected. The interests of workers, families, farmers, and small businesses must be the priority.”

READ: Ways and Means Republican Tax Teams Seek Public Input on Biden’s 2025 Planned Tax Hike on American Families and Businesses

Key Background:

• Fewer Jobs Created Than Reported: 10,000 fewer jobs were created in April and 5,000 fewer jobs were created in March.
• Bureaucrats First: 43,000 government jobs were created compared to only 8,000 manufacturing jobs.
• Workers Staying on Sidelines: The current labor force participation rate (62.5 percent) is still below the pre-pandemic rate (63.3 percent).

“Bidenomics” Failures: 

• Prices have increased 19.9 percent since President Biden took office.
• Real wages and benefits have fallen 4.4 percent since President Biden took office.
• Weak Economy: The economy continues to be weighed down by ‘Bidenomics,’ with the Bureau of Economic Analysis newly estimating the economy grew a sluggish 1.3 percent in the first quarter of 2024, a full three points lower than forecasted. 
• Inflation Higher Than Wages: Inflation outpaced wages for 26 straight months of Biden’s presidency.
• Historic Interest Rates: Under President Biden, interest rates hit their highest levels in 23 years at 7.8 percent. 
• Doubled Mortgage Costs: The monthly mortgage payment for a median priced new home has increased by $1,171 and is 103 percent higher than when President Biden took office in January 2021.
• $1 Trillion+ Credit Card Debt: Credit card interest rates are at the highest level in more than three decades, while consumer credit debt has exceeded $1 trillion for the second calendar quarter and the number of Americans struggling to pay credit card bills has increased to the highest level in 12 years.
• Shrinking Savings: Thanks to higher prices, families have spent the entirety of their pandemic savings by 2024 and they are able to save less of their income. The savings rate dropped to 3.2 percent, the lowest in nearly two years. 
• Families Falling Behind on Bills: Over one-third of families (37 percent) paid a late fee in the past year.