Washington
President Joe Biden has seized on feeble US employment data to argue the world’s largest economy needs his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, which cleared a key Senate hurdle without support from the Republican opposition.
The closely-watched jobs data showed the unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent in January, but the economy added only 49,000 jobs, the Labour Department said. The anemic report made plain the ongoing struggles in the United States as Americans cope with the largest Covid-19 outbreak in the world. “I believe the American people are looking right now to their government for help,” Biden said after a meeting with top Democratic lawmakers. “So I’m going to act, I’m going to act fast.” Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would push for rapid approval of the package.—AFP
