August Jobs Report Shows Hiring Slows In Trump’s Historic Recession

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, September 4, 2020

CONTACT: press@iowademocrats.org

August Jobs Report Shows Hiring Slows, Economy Stalling In Trump’s Historic Recession

Trump’s disastrous mishandling of COVID-19 led to the worst recession since the Great Depression,  Iowa workers are still struggling 

DES MOINES — The August job report, released this morning, shows that the brunt of President Trump’s historic recession is still being felt by workers: hiring slowed last month and employers added the fewest new jobs since the COVID-19 crisis began. This economic downtown — the worst since the Great Depression — is a direct result of Trump’s chaotic mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, and the thousands of out-of-work Iowans are feeling the consequences.

Trump’s broken promises to the middle-class are on full display in this new report, as data shows that many companies are making permanent job cuts instead of temporary furloughs as the pandemic rages on. Meanwhile, new rules and regulations pushed by the GOP will make many Iowans ineligible for unemployment as they try to get back on their feet.

These dismal job numbers come as Iowa has become a worldwide COVID-19 hotspot and home to the two of the most dangerous metro areas in the country for coronavirus spread, a clear sign the crisis is far from over. Just today, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 1,183 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the state to a total over 67,000 cases and over 1,100 deaths.

“President Trump’s refusal to listen to science or offer Iowans any help in tackling the coronavirus pandemic has led us to this point: months later, too many Iowans are still out-of-work and there’s no end in sight to this pandemic,” said IDP Chair Mark Smith. “While every other major country in the world has been able to move on, Iowans are stuck with cases rising daily and a stalled, suffering economy as temporary furloughs turn into permanent layoffs. Iowans’ lives and livelihoods can’t afford four more years of Trump’s failed leadership.”