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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8211.
Today's employment figures are somewhat disappointing. The
American economy remains in forward gear -- but the recent pattern suggests it
is no longer in overdrive. Last month, the economy added 55,000 new jobs -- as
the unemployment rate held essentially steady at 5.7 percent, its eleventh
consecutive month below six percent. Job growth the last few months has been
slower than in 1994, another indication of the shift to a lower gear.
America's working people are slowly but surely climbing
the ladder to new opportunities. Wages for frontline workers ticked up an
average of seven cents per hour in July, though it's still too early to tell
whether this represents a long-term trend. Wage growth over the past 12 months
has been 3.2 percent, just keeping pace with inflation.
Perhaps the hidden story in today's numbers is the
continued shrinking of the federal government's payroll. Since January of 1993,
President Clinton has pared the federal workforce eight percent -- 178,000
fewer non-postal government jobs. The President's goal remains what it has
always been: a government that is lean, not mean -- and that provides ladders
to new opportunities for every American.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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