AFSCME’s Saunders: Job Numbers Demonstrate Urgency for Aid to States, Cities and Towns

WASHINGTON — AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement in response to the May jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

“People who work in public service continue to bear the brunt of this economic downturn, as the public sector shed nearly 600,000 jobs in May, on top of roughly 1 million in April. There is general consensus among leading economists that this public sector job loss will prematurely stall the broad-based recovery if it is not addressed. We need paramedics, school employees, sanitation workers and others on the job if we’re going to safely reopen the economy.

“Today’s report shows some economic signs of life, with deep job losses from the pandemic beginning to abate and many people returning to work. But 19.5 million total jobs lost over the last three months, with African American unemployment unchanged in May, is hardly cause for celebration.

“It’s time for the U.S. Senate to put partisanship aside and move quickly to pass aid to states, cities and towns – so we can maintain the services that keep our communities strong and turbocharge the economic recovery we need.”