Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Remarks at Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Hello, everybody, it’s great to be here today. Thanks to Mayor Tom Barrett, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and the rest of the chambers who are serving as our hosts.
This time last week I wasn't sure I'd be here, on account of the budget situation in Washington. But Congress came together. In the process, they prevented 800,000 Americans from being thrown out of work this week.
That’s critical because it would've been the height of irresponsibility to shut down the government at a time when our economy is showing the most strength since the recession hit over two years ago.
National retail sales just had their strongest quarterly gain since 2001.
Manufacturing activity just hit its highest level since 2004.
Finally, the jobs picture is improving. Since February 2010, the U.S. economy has added private sector jobs every single month, with private employment increasing by 1.8 million jobs.
And this past month's increase of more than 200,000 private sector jobs for the second consecutive month represents the largest such bump since April of last year.
But 8.5 percent unemployment in Wisconsin and 8.8 percent unemployment nationally is no reason to celebrate – not with millions of families still struggling to: At his State of the Union address earlier this year, you heard President Obama explain why.
He said the most important contest our nation faces is not between Democrats and Republicans, but between America and countries around the world that are competing like never before for the jobs and industries of the future.
To win that competition, the president said we’d have to:
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
