WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden touted the success of the July jobs report at the White House on Friday but expressed concern over the threat of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
The U.S. added 943,000 jobs in the month of July and the unemployment rate fell to 5.4% but the President warned there is still much to be done to combat the Delta variant.
“My message today is not one of celebration. It’s one to remind us we have a lot of hard work left to be done, both to beat the Delta variant and to continue our advance of economic recovery,” Biden said.
However, Biden did say the positive jobs report was a reflection of his administration’s efforts on strengthening the economy in the face of a pandemic that just doesn’t seem to want to go away.
“Now while our economy is far from complete, and while we undoubtedly will have ups and downs along the way as we continue to battle the Delta surge of Covid, what is indisputable now is this: The Biden plan is working. The Biden plan produces results, and the Biden plan is moving the country forward,” Biden said.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the jobs report on Friday, showing the biggest jobs gain since August of last year and more than the 870,000 that experts predicted.
Biden praised the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which could pass through the Senate as soon as Saturday. He argued signing the bill into law would further boost the US economy and its competitiveness.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer moved to stop all debate on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, leaving the possibilty of passage for the legislation. The bill features $550 billion in new federal spending over five years and represents a big win for bipartisanship in a country that has been bitterly divided.
The President took the moment to express his concern over the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which has caused an uptick in cases and hospitalizations among the unvaccinated Americans, and urged Americans to get the shot.
“Today about 400 people will die because of the Delta variant in this country. A tragedy, because virtually all of these deaths were preventable if people had gotten vaccinated,” Biden said.
“Cases are going to go up before they come back down. It’s a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” he added.
