GOP senators bash weak jobs report, Biden's talk of 'progress'

Republican senators, including possible presidential hopefuls, have blasted the latest disappointing jobs report, as well as President Biden’s efforts to portray the shortage as part of "progress." 

The September jobs report showed the economy adding 194,000 jobs – well short of the 500,000 new jobs expected. Republicans have largely targeted the double track of benefits for the unemployed and various mandates that restrict eligibility for some jobs. 

No one spared criticism for Biden or his policies, with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., saying the administration "has been throwing a wet blanket over job creators." 

ANDY PUZDER: TEAM BIDEN, IF YOU WANT BETTER JOBS NUMBERS, STOP DISCOURAGING WORK

Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told FOX Business that "The Biden economy is failing Americans who want to get back to work and put the virus behind them."

"President Biden was dealt a winning hand with three safe and effective vaccines and he’s blown it," Barrasso argued. "America’s economic recovery is being paralyzed by Joe Biden’s big spending, high taxing, and socialist policies."

"The months of disappointing jobs reports are a direct result of President Biden’s failed policies," Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told FOX Business. "This administration’s plan of paying people not to work and burdensome mandates has crippled our economy at a time when middle-class Americans are already struggling to afford basic necessities due to inflation."

WORKER SHORTAGE COULD TURN FAST FOOD INTO DRIVE-THRU ONLY

Biden claimed that the U.S. has made "consistent and steady progress," with the unemployment below 5% for the first time since he took office. He touted findings from the Labor Department that said the number of layoffs and job reductions "is the lowest in this country since 1997."

However, Republicans have not accepted Biden’s side of the story. Ranking Member of the Senate Joint Economic Committee Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, noted that jobs are currently 5 million short of pre-pandemic levels. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-FL, proclaimed that "Joe Biden and Democrats in Washington are pushing America off a cliff." 

LARRY KUDLOW: THE JOBS REPORT WAS BETTER THAN PEOPLE ARE SAYING

"This jobs report shows what employers all over the country have been saying for months: the labor shortage is getting worse," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told FOX Business. "The Biden administration should abandon their new entitlement programs, restore the work requirements they gutted in their March spending spree and get people back to work."

"This is just more evidence of Joe Biden’s anti-worker agenda in action," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said. "Instead of the recovery we desperately need, Biden’s given us fewer jobs, higher prices, and rampant inflation. It’s time for the president to stop fighting his phony culture war and put America back to work."

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The September report was the first since the $300 per week in supplemental unemployment benefits expired on September 5. Economists are still assessing the impact of the Child Tax Credit, which pays families up to $3,600 per child per year. Also having an impact going forward will be the mandatory vaccine requirements being enforced by a growing number of companies.

FOX Business' Tyler Olson, Jonathan Garber, Robert Enos and Edward Lawrence contributed to this report.