The October job gains of 271,000 jobs caught off guard many economists and analysts who expected the US economy to add about 90,000 fewer jobs last month.
The one person who was not surprised: the US secretary of labor, Tom Perez. In fact, Perez said the US economy could do much better if the Republicans would stop talking about defunding Planned Parenthood, pull it together and get on board with issues like infrastructure.
“On average – in 2015 – we have seen growth of about 206,000 jobs which is very solid. I am heartened by this number,” Perez told the Guardian on Friday. “The key is to figure everything we have to do to sustain the number because while we have made progress – the unemployment rate now is 5% as opposed to 7.2% two years ago – I think we can do even better.”
When asked what he thought of the Republican candidates’ performance during the CNBC “Your Money, Your Vote” Republican Debate, Perez said Republicans need to address real issues.
“The Republicans ignore pocketbook issues at their peril. The people I talk to across America – the main thing they are concerned about is middle-class security,” Perez told the Guardian.
“They have kids but they don’t have paid family leave. They have been working for five years and they have not gotten a meaningful raise. They have a loved one who does not have access to health insurance. They want to have retirement security.”
While Democrats are talking about “real issues” facing “hardworking American families”, “Republicans are busy talking about Planned Parenthood and scapegoating immigrants”, said Perez.
Weeks earlier, Carly Fiorina, a Republican presidential candidate and former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard, accused Planned Parenthood of using taxpayers’ money to harvest fetuses for profit. At the same time, Republicans in Congress attempted to defund the organization. All the while, one of Donald Trump’s main campaign promises was that he would deport all undocumented immigrants if elected president in 2016.
The GOP presidential candidates will have another chance to sound off on the economy this coming week when Fox Business and the Wall Street Journal hold their own debate for the Republican candidates.
One of the topics that is bound to come up is Barack Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. The announcement came just hours after Friday’s jobs report was released.
“If Congress is serious about wanting to create jobs, this was not the way to do it,” said Obama.
His administration has a wishlist of sorts for job creation and a stronger economy that includes: a long-term infrastructure bill, reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank and a comprehensive budget that would undo some of the cuts imposed by the 2013 sequester.
If the last month is anything to go by, the wishlist could slowly become a reality – at least parts of it. On Thursday, the House passed a $300bn highway bill focused on improving US infrastructure like roads and bridges. If passed, the bill would also renew the Export-Import Bank. And on Monday, Obama signed off on a two-year budget agreement that passed through both the House and Senate in October.
“I am hopeful that we can get to the next level [of economic recovery] by having the Republican Congress finally deliver on some critical bipartisan items that should have passed years ago, such as the long-term infrastructure bill and the reauthorization of the Exim Bank,” said Perez.
“The progress we have made to date has been despite the Congress, and it’s amazing how much we can do if the Republican Congress would actually work with us.”
