[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 153 (Tuesday, October 28, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      EMPLOYMENT DOWNFALL IN OHIO

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                       HON. STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 28, 2003

  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to 
the dramatic downfall in Ohio employment since this current 
administration took office in January of 2001. This downfall is being 
felt by middle-class workers throughout Cleveland, throughout Ohio and 
throughout our Nation.
  In January of 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 
Cleveland benefited from 1,147,700 jobs. By January 2003, that number 
plunged by 55,000 jobs. After two additional years of fiscally reckless 
policies from this administration, current preliminary estimates state 
less than 1,113,100 jobs now exist in the City of Cleveland.
  In September of 2001, Cleveland had 183,100 manufacturing jobs. The 
current number of manufacturing jobs has dipped to 165,700. The amount 
of job losses in manufacturing for the State of Ohio since August 2001 
now total 86,700.
  A great many of these unemployed manufacturing employees are 
dependent on benefits provided under the Temporary Extended 
Unemployment Compensation program. The total number of unemployed 
workers in Ohio who have exhausted these benefits amounts to 126,000.
  Ohioans must have the means necessary to aid them through these 
troubling economic times. I would urge this administration to focus on 
initiatives to boost employment--not just tax cuts.
  Ohioans deserve a resolution to this unemployment spell. The facts 
show that too many are still out of work. Ohioans deserve to know why.

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