Ferrioli comments on unemployment numbers

March 16, 2009

Senator Ted Ferrioli

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 16, 2009
CONTACT: Michael Gay, 503.986.1950

Senator Ted Ferrioli comments on unemployment numbers

Salem, OR – Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day) had the following to say about the
release of today’s unemployment numbers:
“When I look at today’s unemployment numbers I see families, families struggling to pay the rent, put food on the table or gas in their cars. More than one in every ten Oregonians you pass on the
sidewalk today can’t find a job to help them pay the bills.

“Folks in government like to talk about what effect unemployment numbers have on the state budget,
but I think that focus is in the wrong place. Every dollar lost in the state budget means Oregon
families have lost $10. A $2 billion budget hole means families, small businesses and the economy
have lost $20 billion in wages, earnings and dividends. That is money they depend on to get by from
month to month.

“We must focus on getting Oregonians back to work. If we create an environment that allows
employers to grow, thrive and to hire working Oregonians, the state budget problems will take care of themselves.”
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