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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8211
Our nation's economy remains on solid ground and continues to move in
the right direction. At 4.3 percent, the unemployment rate was essentially
unchanged in April. It has been at or below 4.5 percent for more than one year,
and below 5 percent for the past two years.
We saw strong growth in almost every sector of the economy, especially
in the service industry which added more than 130,000 jobs. We also saw job
gains in business services, health services, retail, insurance, engineering and
real estate. African American unemployment was 7.7 percent, the lowest on
record.
But as President Clinton always says: you don't fix a leaky roof when
it's raining--you do it when the sun is shining. During this time of economic
good news--with inflation in check, profits rising, unemployment at record lows
and more than 18 million new jobs--now is the time to ensure that this
prosperity is broadly shared. To do that, we need to raise the minimum wage by
one dollar over the next two years. And as we look forward to honoring our
mothers this weekend, we must remember that one-in-five U.S. families is headed
by a single mother. In spite of great progress, full-time working women earn
only 75 cents for every dollar a man makes. We need to work harder to close the
wage gap. Equal and fair pay is not simply a woman's issue, but a family
issue.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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