Labor Secretary Marty Walsh speaks alongside Joe Biden during an event on workers rights and labor unions in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh defended the lackluster jobs report from September. In an interview on Sunday, Walsh said the addition of just 194,000 jobs was disappointing.
However, Walsh pointed out unemployment fell below five percent for the first time since the start of the pandemic. He also claimed five million jobs have been created since Joe Biden took office.
When asked why the jobs report was so bad, he placed the blame squarely on the pandemic.
“There’s no question that, that we have work to do. Number one, we’re dealing with, we’re still living with a pandemic, a worldwide pandemic. Also, people concerned about the delta variant, people concerned about their personal health,” he stated. “We have folks that are vaccinated, folks that aren’t vaccinated, and the people who are vaccinated worry about the people who aren’t vaccinated.”
Today’s jobs report shows gains across industries.
But our full recovery depends on our commitment to public health. Employer vaccine requirements bringing case numbers down, helping more people get back to work and are strengthening our economy. pic.twitter.com/FxMFtH1qxQ
— Secretary Marty Walsh (@SecMartyWalsh) October 8, 2021
When asked why there have been so many jobs open, yet millions haven’t taken them, Walsh brushed of the concerns as work life balance issues. He said people were stuck in jobs they may not have liked and were using the time off to reevaluate their positions.
Source: One America News Network
