337,000 Jobs Created in October - Biggest Increase in Seven Months
2.4 Million Jobs Created Since August 2003 - 14 Straight Months of Jobs Gains

Friday's  News: Jobs Data Shows President's Economic Policies are Driving Strong Job Growth

The government released new jobs figures  on November 5, 2004 - and the data show robust job gains. Employment rose by 337,000 in October. Revisions to August and September added a combined 113,000 jobs to total employment and showed the economy has added nearly 2.4 million jobs since last August, with 14 straight months of job gains.

• The economy has posted steady job gains for each of the last fourteen months - creating nearly 2.4 million jobs since August 2003, according to the payroll survey.
• The household survey shows nearly 2.5 million jobs created since August 2003.
• The national unemployment rate edged up slightly to 5.5% in October, largely due to an increase in the size of the labor force. The rate is down 0.8 percentage point from a peak of 6.3% in June 2003. At 5.5%, the unemployment rate is well below the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
• Job creation was up in 47 of the 50 states in the last year, and the unemployment rate was down in all regions and in 46 of the 50 states .
• Employment in construction, financial services, and educational and health services is at an all-time high.
• Since the national peak in June 2003, unemployment rates have fallen across all levels of education, races, and ages.

More to Do: The President's Plan to Create More Jobs, Security, and Opportunity in a Growing Economy

The President's tax cuts are creating jobs and continuing to strengthen the economy, yet there is still more to do so that every American who wants a job can find one. To create jobs, America must remain the best place in the world to do business. The President's six-point plan:

• Allows families to plan for the future by making tax relief permanent.
• Encourages investment and expansion by restraining Federal spending and reducing regulation.
• Makes our country less dependent on foreign sources of energy through a comprehensive national energy policy.
• Expands trade and levels the playing field to sell American goods and services across the globe.
• Protects small business owners and workers from the explosion of frivolous lawsuits that threaten jobs across America .
• Lowers the cost of health care for small businesses and working families through Association Health Plans, tax-free Health Savings Accounts, tax credits for employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts, Medical Liability Reform, and health information technology.
• To keep our economy growing, we must reform the tax code to make it simpler, fairer, and more pro-growth . The President will lead a bipartisan effort to reform and simplify the tax code.
• To help workers find better, higher-paying jobs, the President has proposed to double the number of people served by our principal job training program and increase funding for community colleges .
• To stand with workers in poor communities and communities that have lost manufacturing, textile, and other jobs, the President proposes the creation of opportunity zones. To assist these communities in helping themselves, we will provide tax relief and other incentives to attract new business, and improve housing, job training, and high-tech infrastructure.