Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said that since President Biden took office, the U.S. added more than 9 million jobs, and the private sector economy has more than fully recovered from its pandemic-era job losses.
He said this milestone reflects the success of the administration’s economic policies and the resilience of America’s businesses and workers, according to a July 8 Department of Labor news release.
“Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 372,000 jobs in the month of June, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.6% for the fourth consecutive month,” Walsh said, according to the release.
As it builds on the historically strong recovery made possible by the American Rescue Plan, the economy is transitioning into stable job growth to the benefit of the nation’s workers, the release reported. Jobs are being created with low unemployment and the investment of billions of dollars into communities through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The manufacturing sector has fully recovered, Walsh said in the release. He said the hard-hit childcare services and nursing and residential care sectors are experiencing growth.
“Many of the workers most adversely affected by the pandemic – particularly women, people of color, people with disabilities, lower-wage workers and workers from other historically marginalized communities – are benefiting from this recovery through higher wages and more job opportunities,” Walsh said, according to the release. “However, they still face barriers to finding quality jobs.”
The Department of Labor is using its Good Jobs Initiative to address the inequities, the release reported. This includes the expansion of equity-focused workforce development.
