Senator Rob Portman Press Release:

August 02, 2013

Portman Statement on July Jobs Report

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) released the following statement on the July jobs report:

“Today's unemployment numbers are a reminder that the economy has not turned the corner, especially for those unemployed Americans who have been looking for a job for a long time.  Many of the people that I will visit with in Ohio this month have given up looking for a job altogether.  In fact, so many people have given up looking that the labor force actually declined by 37,000 last month.

“A major reason our economy is creating too few jobs right now – why Americans have spent months looking for a job in the Obama economy but can't find work – is because of the higher health care premiums, the incentives to hire fewer full –time and more part-time workers, and the financial uncertainty created by Obamacare.  The President has already acknowledged that the new Obamacare mandates on businesses are unworkable, and earlier this week the Ohio Department of Insurance reported that premiums in the individual market in Ohio would jump by an average of over 40 percent.

“The economic problems that are being created by Obamacare are real and immediate, and only create another obstacle to the kind of economic growth we all hope.

“In addition to repealing and replacing Obamacare, Congress should be focused on pro-growth policies like tax reform, regulatory relief, and dealing with the financial uncertainty created by the unprecedented level of debt.  We will not see robust job creation until the federal government gets serious about reducing our budget deficits and dealing with the nearly $17 trillion in debt.  As Washington debates raising the debt ceiling this Fall, I will continue  to fight for a bipartisan agreement to put in place pro-growth policies, including tackling  the runaway spending that is creating a drag on our economy."