Troubling February Jobs Report, Largest Monthly Decline in Five Years

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2008 - Troubling jobs report from the Labor Department, showed this week that the U.S. economy lost 63,000 jobs in February, the largest monthly job decline in nearly five years:

This week's troubling jobs numbers show that Congress must continue to chart a New Direction for our economy that breaks with the failed Bush Administration policies and puts America back on track to creating jobs and raising incomes for families. The Bush Administration's economic policies have failed to create jobs and renew the American Dream for the middle class and those who aspire to it -- instead leaving families struggling to make ends meet with rising prices for gas, home heating oil, groceries, and health care.

Just this week, news of new highs and lows defined the worsening economic picture:

-- Biggest Job Drop Off in Five Years: Employers slashed jobs by 63,000 in February -- the biggest job drop off in five years and the second consecutive month of job losses. The job losses were widespread -- in construction, manufacturing, retailing, financial services and a variety of professional and business services. President Bush is tied for the worst jobs record of any President since the Great Depression, and America has lost 3.4 million manufacturing jobs since 2001.

-- Energy Prices at Record Levels: This week, oil prices hit an all-time record high of nearly $106 per barrel, while families are paying $3.19 a gallon for gas -- 68 cents a gallon more than last year and only pennies away from the record of last spring. Gas prices are double that of 2001 and home heating oil costs are three times that of 2001.

-- Mortgage Crisis Worsens: The percentage of mortgages that were in foreclosure hit a record high in the fourth quarter, while mortgage delinquencies rose to a 23-year high. Homeowners' debt on their houses exceeds their equity in their homes for the first time since 1945.