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Today, the Department of Labor released the February jobs report showing the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.7%. Job losses totaled a better than expected 36,000 – down from the 779,000 job losses in January 2009 – with the jobs losses in the previous two months revised down by 35,000. The rate of job losses is declining – from an average of 727,000 per month in the final three months of the Bush Administration to 57,000 during the past three months.

Speaker Pelosi on today's report: “Today’s jobs report demonstrates that economic stabilization is taking hold: the unemployment rate held steady despite the disruptions caused by the winter storms, and manufacturing jobs grew for the second straight month. The report is cautious evidence that America’s businesses are gaining confidence and that the Recovery Act continues to restore strength in key sectors of our economy. To keep the recovery moving in the right direction on behalf of all Americans, we must continue to invest wisely and act with fiscal discipline.

“Yesterday, the House passed the HIRE Act to give small businesses a tax break for hiring new workers and create jobs building the infrastructure of the future. And in December, the House passed a sweeping Jobs for Main Street Act.

“We will take additional steps to move our economy forward. As the recovery begins, too many Americans are still unemployed. Too many workers in the hardest hit communities have fallen behind during this downturn and are not seeing reason for hope.