Labor Secretary: We Must Extend Unemployment So People Keep Job-Hunting

“The economy continues to move in the right direction, but we have to pick up the pace, and the president has been the first to say that, and this jobs report reminds us that we continue to have work to do. And the president has laid out a very ambitious plan of investment in infrastructure, passage of immigration reform, a number of things that have historically enjoyed bipartisan support. And the most immediate thing we have to do is pass the extension of emergency unemployment compensation because if our goal is to keep people in the labor market and move labor force participation up, one of the most important, immediate things we can do is make sure that we pass that extension. Because in order to continue to receive those emergency benefits, you must continue to look for a job. That’s why that bill is so important in addition to providing that critical lifeline for the 1.3 million people that have lost their jobs.”