PRESS RELEASE: MEDIA AVAIL: ECONOMISTS AVAILABLE TO DISCUSS “WEAK” JANUARY JOBS REPORT

*** MEDIA AVAILABILITY ***

MEDIA AVAIL: ECONOMISTS AVAILABLE TO DISCUSS “WEAK” JANUARY JOBS REPORT

Unemployment Rate Remains Well Above Pre-Pandemic Levels, 10 Million Americans Remain Unemployed

Last Week, Unemployment Claims Exceeded the Pre-Pandemic All-Time High for the 46th Straight Week

Majority of Americans Want a Large Covid Relief Package As Soon As Possible, Even Without A Bipartisan Vote In Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The unemployment rate remained well above its pre-pandemic level in January as modest jobs gains weren’t enough to make a dent in the 10 million Americans who remain unemployed, according to a monthly jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor that the New York Times called “weak.”

Economists like Austan Goolsbee, former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama, warn that this month’s report could indicate “danger of a double-dip recession.”

“We’ve had recession-level unemployment rates for months, and this jobs report is the latest sign that it won’t let up any time soon without big, bold action,” said Maddy McDaniel, spokesperson for Invest in America. “The 10 million Americans who are unemployed need our leaders to treat this crisis like the emergency it is. They can’t afford small thinking and petty politics. They need major public investment and stimulus that will crush the virus and get our economy back on track — including aid for states to distribute vaccines and keep essential workers on the job, direct checks for struggling families, extended unemployment insurance, and help to keep small businesses open.”

The below economists are available for interviews to discuss the jobs report and what it means for covid relief efforts. Please contact [email protected] to get in touch.

• Gabriel Mathy, assistant professor of economics at American University who specializes in macroeconomics and economic history.

• Claudia Sahm, former Federal Reserve economist and New York Times and Bloomberg opinion contributor

• Eileen Appelbaum, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research

• Anna Stansbury, Ph.D. Scholar at Harvard University’s Program in Inequality and Social Policy who co-authored research on worker power and American economic performance with former Director of the National Economic Council Lawrence H. Summers.

Please contact [email protected] to get in touch.

About Invest in America

Invest In America is a national rapid response operation advocating for robust public investment to rescue the economy from the COVID crisis and create prosperity for the future, and to fight back against fear-mongers who use deficit concerns as a scapegoat to starve American communities and businesses of resources.

The operation consists of two components: Invest in America, the charitable and public education arm, which is a fiscally sponsored project of Economic Security Project funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Economic Security Project co-chair Chris Hughes; and Invest in America Action, the advocacy and social welfare arm, which is a fiscally sponsored project of Economic Security Project Action funded by Chris Hughes and the Omidyar Network.

Learn more at InvestInAmericaNow.com and @InvestNowUSA, and InvestinAmericaProject.com.