[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15730]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   NUMBERS NEVER LIE--UNLESS THEY DO

  (Mr. FITZPATRICK asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, the numbers never lie--unless they do.
  Each month we all react to the release of the employment report as 
the supposed indicator of economic health around our country. The most 
recent jobs numbers show an unemployment rate of 5.1 percent, but that 
headline number paints a picture that simply doesn't exist. It distorts 
the economic outlook and distracts this Chamber from working toward the 
creation of better jobs and more opportunities for millions of 
Americans.
  Economists of all persuasions have criticized this method as 
overstating job market strength, noting that the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics only considers limited factors when reporting the 
unemployment rate and ignoring things like underemployment or the 
number of workers who have left the labor force. What we are left with 
is a flawed view of labor market strength.
  With that in mind, I have joined with colleagues in introducing the 
Labor Statistics Improvement Act, which would clear the way for changes 
in methodology that could help the unemployment rate more accurately 
reflect the strength of the labor market.
  If the jobs report dictates how this Congress addresses real economic 
challenges, we can't afford to get it wrong.

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