As the American people continue to suffer under President Biden’s broken economy, disconcerting data in the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed June as having the weakest overall job growth in the last 14 months. The data also revealed the workforce participation rate is decreasing at a time when employers need workers most. According to BLS, the number of Americans in the workforce decreased to 62.2 percent in June. For context, workforce participation was at 63.4 percent prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and comfortably over 66 percent prior to the 2008 financial crisis.
Everywhere I travel in our state, employers with good jobs to fill tell me they cannot find workers. Because of Nebraska’s extremely low unemployment rate, recruiting workers from out of state is sometimes the only option. To make matters worse, many communities don’t have the housing capacity to support bringing those workers in. This has been a difficulty in the Third District and other parts of rural America, even before the pandemic, and the Biden economy is making the problem worse.
This week, in a Ways and Means Committee hearing on housing I was able to bring attention to this crisis and highlight the lengths to which Third District business owners are going to provide housing to workers. One business even bought a local motel to convert to apartments to accommodate their welders. Nebraska employers are working in a variety of other ways to meet demand and find qualified talent. To invest in the construction workforce, the Associated General Contractors sponsor a program at Hastings’ Central Community College which consistently graduates students with multiple substantial job offers.
While the costs of labor, energy, materials, and transportation continue to increase, becoming a homeowner is getting harder and harder for Americans. And policies coming out of the Biden administration are exacerbating these challenges for Americans everywhere. The median home price has increased by $100,000 and, according to Redfin analysis, the average monthly mortgage payment for buyers with 20 percent down has gone up $877 since President Biden took office.
Meanwhile, the rate of inflation just hit 9.1 percent, the highest rate in 41 years. Instead of helping American families by getting our economy back on track, Democrats are proposing more reckless spending and higher taxes, such as Senate Democrats’ proposal to add a 3.8 percent surtax on small businesses and farms. This is unacceptable and will only continue to drive up prices.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, 63 percent of all home builders and two-thirds of all specialty trade contractors generate less than one million dollars per year in total business receipts Rather than making the tax code more onerous, we should take action to make our economy stronger through our tax code by addressing issues like requirements for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to ensure the interest expenses on home construction are fully deductible.
It is clear: with five million more job openings than job seekers, Democrats’ programs, like $600 unemployment payment add-ons and mismanaged child tax credit payments, disincentivized work for too long. To get the market back on track, we need to rein in spending, reduce the deficit, and stop artificially driving demand. We need more skilled laborers, goods, and energy resources, not less. Throwing money at the problem is only driving inflation and adding fuel to the fire.