WASHINGTON, DC - Service Employees International Union (SEIU) International President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement in response to the jobs report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing the economy added 200,000 jobs in December 2011:

Today's jobs report is good news, but we can and must do better. More than 13 million Americans are still looking for work, almost 24 million workers cannot find full time work and the number of long-term unemployed only fell slightly. We are a rich country--corporate profits are at record highs--and it is in our power to put millions of Americans back to work in the coming months.

"When Congress returns, Republicans must get serious about job creation instead of proposing more cuts to unemployment insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. Cutting critical programs while delivering massive tax giveaways to corporations is not a viable, long-term solution to our national jobs emergency."

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