Job Creators Network Reacts to GDP Report & Unemployment Claims Report

Washington, DC (July 30, 2020) — Today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined by 32.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020. Additionally, new data released by the Department of Labor reveals the number of first-time unemployment claims was 1.434 million last week.

Alfredo Ortiz, President and CEO of the Job Creators Network (JCN), released the following statement:

“While Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi might not like it, every day America is making progress on fighting Covid-19 and reopening society. Pelosi wants to make unemployment benefits so extravagant that people make more money staying at home than returning to work. We don’t need that. Biden wants $10 trillion in new government spending. We don’t need that either. What we do need is to empower the private sector. The Senate Republican bill does that by extending the Paycheck Protection Program, which has already saved 51 million jobs, and transitioning jobless benefits to match roughly 70 percent of an individual’s previous wages. While this limit is a step in the right direction, small businesses would have an easier time rehiring the nation’s workforce if this threshold was reduced to the 50 to 60 percent range. Getting a strong stimulus bill is essential to our recovery.  JCN will continue working with Administration and congressional leaders to make that happen.”

On July 17, JCN sent a letter to Senators McConnell, Rubio and Collins urging them to oppose an extension of the $600-per-week unemployment benefits. To read the letter, click here.