[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 18 (Monday, May 8, 2000)]
[Page 1017]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Report

May 5, 2000

    Today we have further proof of the continued strength of our 
economy. With the announcement of 3.9 percent unemployment, we have 
broken the 4 percent barrier for the first time in three decades. Over 
the last 7 years, our Nation has created 21 million new jobs and cut the 
unemployment rate nearly in half. This is more than a symbolic milestone 
in the longest and strongest economic expansion in history. It shows 
that our strategy of fiscal discipline is working for all Americans. We 
have the lowest unemployment for African-Americans and Hispanics on 
record, the lowest unemployment for women in more than 40 years, and 
strong wage growth among all income groups.
    The American people deserve credit for this historic achievement. 
And they have made it clear that we should stay on the path of fiscal 
discipline, debt reduction, and targeted investments in our people. We 
should not adopt risky tax cuts that would derail our hard won 
prosperity. We have a responsibility to maintain the fiscal discipline 
that got us here.