Kyrillos: Surging Joblessness Proves Corzine's Economic Record an Utter Failure

Senator Joe Kyrillos, R-Monmouth, said the gut-wrenching news that New Jersey's unemployment rate has surged to 9.7 percent is more proof that Jon Corzine's half-hearted attempts to spur economic development were much too little, much too late. Now the governor needs to call an immediate special session to completely revamp New Jersey's plans for economic development so that the state can finally begin to help struggling businesses create jobs. The rate is the highest since April 1977.

"It's incredible. New Jersey, once the economic powerhouse of the East Coast, has become a drag on the regional economy," Senator Kyrillos said. "Every single neighboring state has a far lower rate of unemployment than New Jersey does. The governor should apologize for his failure to act and call a special session.

"The numbers prove without a shadow of doubt that the governor made a huge blunder when he completely ignored the state's economy for the first three years of his term and continued to squeeze businesses in every way possible with taxes, fees and regulations," Senator Kyrillos said. "It's not enough to pull out a Band-Aid when a wound is open and raw. Private sector job growth should have been the governor's goal from Day One of his administration, not something he belatedly paid attention to only after the economy collapsed."

The facts: New Jersey families make 10 percent less than they did two years ago, one of the steepest drops in income in the entire nation during the recession. Foreclosure rates surged almost 29 percent in New Jersey during August, even as they began to fall nationally. The percentage of state residents without health insurance climbed above 15 percent to a 10 year high under Corzine, only to dip slightly to 14.1 percent last year. Private-sector job growth has plunged over the last eight years, and 143, 000 fewer people have jobs this year than a year ago.

"A special session on job creation is vital, and the Governor needs to say why he won't bring the Legislature back into session," Senator Kyrillos said. "Governor Corzine is touting a positive economic development record that doesn't exist. If he wants to start building that record, it's not too late. He can start today by calling the special session on job growth that he should have called in 2006."

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