Chairman Smith on Jobs Report: Trump Economy Continues to Defy Expectations, Deliver for Working Families

Jobs report shows 178,000 new jobs, including 15,000 new manufacturing jobs and 26,000 new construction jobs, and falling unemployment rate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest jobs report, showing the labor market defying expectations and creating new jobs in construction and manufacturing:

"President Trump's agenda and Republican economic policies are delivering for the blue-collar working men and women of America. This jobs report, with 178,000 new jobs, including 15,000 new manufacturing jobs and 26,000 new construction jobs, is further evidence that America is back. This is the kind of economy the Working Families Tax Cuts fuel: jobs created by the private sector, higher wages, and more businesses building, producing, and hiring in America. As more job creators benefit from the Working Families Tax Cuts, more workers will as well alongside bigger paychecks and stronger, more prosperous communities.

"The only reason America is not experiencing even more explosive growth is because of Washington Democrats' government shutdowns to satisfy the demands of their radical left base. The Department of Homeland Security has now been shut down for 49 days, which is just months after the entire federal government was shut down for nearly a month and a half. Despite Democrats holding the American economy hostage to achieve their open border policies, there's good news for American workers. Real wages are up under President Trump by 1.4 percent, far more than the 1.3 percent decline that shrank paychecks under Joe Biden. Tax refunds this filing season are up more than 10 percent so far and the average family will pay $2,300 less in taxes today compared to what they would have owed under the largest tax hike that every single Democrat in Congress voted for and championed. Republican tax relief is delivering not just a more vibrant economy; it ensures more workers, families, farmers, and small businesses - more Americans that are finding a job or creating a job - benefit from it."