Bill Shein, a Democratic candidate for the open seat in the new First Congressional District of Massachusetts, issued the following statement this morning:

Today’s jobs report suggests that new jobs are being added to many sectors of the broader economy. When unemployment and underemployment have remained unacceptably high for so long, it’s good to know that some are finding work.

But let’s make sure that monthly jobs number is not the end, but rather, the beginning of a broad, necessary conversation about what’s really happening in our economy and to working people. And use it as a clarion call for much bigger, bolder action on jobs and public investment.

Noticeably absent from most news coverage and commentary are key questions: What kind of jobs are being created? Are they durable and lasting? Do they pay a living wage? Do they include good health care benefits? Sick pay so a parent can stay home with a sick child or stay home when they're sick themselves? Paid vacation? Opportunities to learn new skills? Work that offers a meaningful contribution to one’s community?

A report from Princeton University last fall found that those who lost jobs during the recession but have since found work now earn, on average, 17.5 percent less than before. And that wages and household income have both been flat, or declining, for some time. All while corporate profits soar and Wall Street banks foreclose and evict families from their homes.

Cleary, we must do much better. A monthly jobs number alone does not accurately measure what has been happening to working families – not just for years, but for decades.

To build an economy that truly works for all of us, we need to invest in new and creative ways to keep jobs and wealth in our communities, with institutions and enterprises that are locally based. The long-term hollowing out of our economy by public policy that favors Wall Street and large corporations over Main Street and local business must be highlighted at every opportunity.

As this campaign moves forward, that’s precisely the kind of conversation I mean to advance with proposals to incentivize worker-owned enterprises, give advantage to small and local business over national and transnational corporations, and ideas for an improved economy that is in alignment with our needs, values, and natural environment.

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