February’s encouraging job growth is welcome news, but before we get too excited, let’s not ignore the real pain that working families still experience outside the bubble of D.C.  Long-term unemployment remains unchanged, 14.3 percent of working people in the United States are unemployed or underemployed and public sector employment continues to decline even before the sequester’s devastating impacts have been felt.  And let’s not ignore the politician-made obstacles in front of us:  The 750,000 jobs that the Congressional Budget office estimates will be lost in 2013 due to the sequester is more than three times the number of net new jobs in February (236,000).

Our mission to restore balance to our economy and growth to our labor market is far from complete. Indeed, the progress made toward achieving that mission is in danger of reversal due to the widespread embrace of the zombie idea of austerity. We need the Federal Reserve to continue monetary easing until we have a secure recovery. And what we need from elected officials is simple: Repeal the sequester and invest in working people.

We need the shared prosperity we have not achieved while elites have focused on slashing rules governing corporations, cutting taxes for the rich, and undermining the voice of working people in the workplace. That is why the labor movement is committed to the policies of ‘Prosperity Economics’ --- reforms that will unite and strengthen America by creating jobs, promoting economic security and rebuilding our democracy. We can build an economy that works for all if we work together to dislodge the policies that have made the economy work well for only the top 1%.

Contact: Jeff Hauser (202) 637-5018