Truth-Meter: Reid comment on jobs ‘mostly false’
Sen. Harry Reid’s remark that "private sector jobs have been doing fine" drew a buzz when he said it on the Senate floor on Wednesday.
Senate Republicans said he was "disconnected from reality," while the president of Americans for Limited Government said Reid "needs to get his head examined."
On Thursday, the Pulitizer Prize winning Politifact.com — a less partisan source to say the least — put Reid’s words to the test. The verdict: Mostly false.
Reid’s full quote, in reference to a jobs bill for teachers and public safety workers: "The massive layoffs we have had in America today of course are rooted in the last administration. It is very clear that private-sector jobs have been doing fine. It is the public-sector jobs where we have lost huge numbers. That is what this legislation is all about."
The researchers found Reid was correct that job growth in the private sector has been healthier than in the government sector.
"But is the growth in the private-sector enough to bolster the economy? Many economists say no — that for the private-sector jobs to be "doing fine," there would need to be more of them," they said.
Politifact goes into the details here.
Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson told Politifact that Reid’s statement "could have been put more artfully."