Contact: Mark Nicastre (717) 903-3857

Pennsylvania Democrats Encouraged by Jobs Report, 23 Straight Months of Private Sector Job Growth

Harrisburg, PA - The January jobs report released today shows that the economy added 257,000 private sector jobs, representing the 23rd straight month of job growth under President Obama's leadership and bringing the total number of jobs created since he took office to nearly 3.7 million.  Additionally, the manufacturing sector expanded for the 30^th consecutive month, rising to 396,000 manufacturing jobs created since December 2009.

"For 23 months, we have seen private sector job growth and today's report that the economy added 257,000 private sector jobs is another promising sign for middle class families in Pennsylvania," said Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Jim Burn. "President Obama took swift action to get our economy moving again at a time when we were losing 700,000 jobs a month, and we are seeing the results of his actions. While we still have much work to do to ensure that middle class families in Pennsylvania have an economy that works for them, this month's jobs report is another encouraging sign. We certainly cannot afford to let our recovery slide back by letting Mitt Romney and Washington Republicans push policies that will send jobs overseas and stall our recovery."

"This month's positive jobs report is great news," said Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa. "The report shows that fighting for policies that invest in the middle class is the best course for job creation.  I commend President Obama for his commitment to helping middle class families and for his tenacity in improving our economy from losing several thousand jobs per month when he took office to finally seeing steady improvement.  There is still work to do but President Obama is putting us on the right path."

"President Obama should be commended for another month of solid job growth," said Senator John Blake. "While we still have a long way to go in digging ourselves out of a deep hole, today's jobs report is a good sign that our economy is growing stronger.  We must continue to make investments that will grow our economy so that everyone looking for work can find a job.   Since day one, President Obama has been fighting for policies that will do just that."

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