After the Bureau of Labor Statistics released an abysmal August unemployment report of 235,000 jobs added that fell far short of expectations, Ways and Means Republican Leader Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) released the following statement:

“There’s more than just COVID behind this terrible jobs report. President Biden’s ‘worker-less recovery’ is hammering both Main Street and families as businesses fight to fill jobs and families struggle with rising prices. No wonder the recovery is stalling, and consumer optimism has dropped alarmingly.

“The Biden Jobs Deficit has more than doubled to 627,000 jobs short of his promises of the American Rescue Plan, and he has made no progress on lifting the labor force participation rate.

“Higher wages in August will almost certainly be swamped by higher prices due to government spending and lack of workers — which will only get worse if the Democrats’ trillions in tax hikes and welfare spending is rammed through Congress in September.”

Background: The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its unemployment report for August showing only 235,000 jobs created, well short of expectations. Including revisions, President Biden is falling short of jobs promised as part of the February American Rescue Plan stimulus by 627,000 jobs. Biden will need 1,307,000 jobs in the next Jobs Report to close the gap next month. The unemployment rate dropped by 2 percentage points to 5.2 percent, and labor force participation is unchanged at 61.7. This is still 1.6 percentage points lower than pre-pandemic level of 63.3.