Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly Employment Situation Summary for September 2019.

It was another great month for American workers!

The unemployment rate fell to a 50-year low of 3.5%. This is the nineteenth straight month that the unemployment rate has been at or below 4%. In addition, the U-6 unemployment rate, the most inclusive rate, fell to 6.9%, its lowest rate since 2000. Total nonfarm payroll employment also rose by 136,000.

In addition, the combined employment numbers for July and August were revised up by 45,000.

As a result of the strong jobs numbers, 158,269,000 Americans are now employed. Many of the newly hired Americans were actually not unemployed. They had stopped looking for a job all together during the Obama administration because there were not many jobs available. However, since President Trump took office in January 2017, the U.S. economy has added more than 6 million jobs, and September is the seventeenth straight month where the number of open jobs has been higher than the number of unemployed Americans.

Further, the Trump economy is benefitting all Americans. In his first jobs report statement, the recently sworn-in Secretary of Labor, Secretary Eugene Scalia, explained how all Americans are benefiting:

"Low unemployment rates were widespread across Americans of many backgrounds. The unemployment rate for Americans with less than a high school diploma dropped to a record low since reporting began in 1992. The African-American unemployment rate held at a record low from August and the unemployment rate for Hispanic-Americans set a new record low. Adult women matched their lowest unemployment rate during the Trump Administration at 3.1%, which is the lowest since 1953.

It is welcome news that Americans with disabilities set a new record low unemployment rate, as we observe National Disability Employment Awareness Month this October…

Pro-jobs measures like USMCA will offer the American workforce still more job opportunities and will build on this economic expansion. With record low unemployment rates, the U.S. Department of Labor continues to prioritize apprenticeship expansion, opioid recovery, and skills development as part of the Pledge to America's Workers, with the goal of filling millions of open jobs and fostering prosperous careers." 

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and the Center for Worker Freedom (CWF) once again congratulate President Trump and his administration on these strong job numbers. ATR and CWF also are thrilled about the confirmation of Secretary Scalia and look forward to his pro-worker reforms.