AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on April Jobs Report

The addition of 290,000 jobs in April, the fourth consecutive
monthly gain, is a hopeful sign, if it can be sustained, that real
employment growth is finally underway. Still, we face an enormous
challenge to get out of the more than 11-million job hole that was
opened by the Great Recession that began in 2007.

Even the rise in the unemployment rate to 9.9 percent reflects a
positive trend, because it means that over 800,000 workers entered the
labor force -- many of them formerly discouraged workers who had
stopped looking for work. But, the share of the 15.3 million unemployed
workers who have been unemployed for more than six months rose again to
a new record of 45.9 percent.

It's important to remember that the economic recovery supporting
this job growth remains fragile, however. Despite positive signs of
continued growth in manufacturing and construction jobs, some of the
overall job gains still depend on factors - government stimulus,
inventory re-stocking and census hiring - that are likely to fade
through the year.

We urge Congress to act quickly and decisively to enact legislation
that invests in our future, gets workers back on their feet now and
protects against repeat financial crises.