(TRENTON) – Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex/Passaic) released the following statement Thursday on New Jersey’s 9.9 percent unemployment rate:
“The fact that we’re very nearly at 10 percent unemployment is extremely disappointing news, especially for New Jersey’s middle-class and poor still desperately seeking work.
“It’s good to see jobs being added, but it’s obviously nowhere near enough. New Jersey is almost 2 points higher than the national unemployment average, and most of the recent gains were in the public sector, which certainly has not been the Christie administration’s policy goal.
“It’s so unfortunate that Gov. Christie has failed to devote more attention to jobs as the unemployment rate has increased under his watch.
“Gov. Christie hasn’t hesitated to support anti-middle class Republicans nationwide. Nor has he hesitated when it comes to vetoing the many Democratic jobs initiatives that could have helped our residents. With unemployment hitting 9.9 percent, maybe Gov. Christie will finally acknowledge his theories aren’t working and focus his attention on fixing New Jersey’s economy. We continue to stand ready to work with him.”