Congresswoman Chellie Pingree Says New Job Growth Is Encouraging

Press Release

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said the new job numbers released this morning are encouraging, but much more needs to be done.

"The economy has gained 573,000 jobs in the last four months, which is a lot better than the 800,000 jobs a month we were losing when I went to Congress last year," Pingree said. "We are headed in the right direction but we still have a long way to go before we can make up the ground we lost during this recession."

This week, the Bangor Daily News reported that a leading Maine economist said job growth in Maine is ahead of expectations, and he gave some of the credit to the Recovery Act. According to economists and state officials, 13,000 jobs have been saved or created in Maine because of the Recovery Act.

"I think the reason we got out of the recession two quarters ahead of where we felt we were going to had a lot to do with the stimulus funding," Charles Colgan said. "I think we underestimated the impact that some portions had on the economy."

Yesterday, the House passed a bill that Pingree cosponsored that will make weatherization improvements to their houses while created over 160,000 jobs for contractors, builders and building supply employees.

"Everything we do needs to be focused on jobs right now," Pingree said. "From jump-starting a clean energy industry to making credit more available to small businesses that want to grow and expand."

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