U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue released the following statement regarding the latest jobs report released by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The jobs report shows the economy added 266,000 new jobs in November with an unemployment rate of 3.5%, which remains at a record 50 year low. Earlier this week, at the direction of President Donald J. Trump, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a rule to help move more able-bodied recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) towards self-sufficiency and into employment. The rule restores the system to what Congress intended: assistance through difficult times, not a way of life.
 
“Today’s jobs report is further proof that now in the midst of the strongest economy in a generation, we need everyone who can work, to work. To that end, USDA is laying the groundwork for the expectation that able-bodied Americans re-enter the workforce where there are currently more job openings than people to fill them,” said Secretary Perdue. “Americans are generous people who believe it is their responsibility to help their fellow citizens when they encounter a difficult stretch. Government can be a powerful force for good, but government dependency has never been the American dream. We need to encourage people by giving them a helping hand but not allowing it to become an indefinitely giving hand.”