Jon Huntsman on Jobs Republican UT Governor

High unemployment is a human tragedy

A: This is a human tragedy playing out, with 15 million unemployed, so many million beyond who are so dispirited, they've absolutely given up. I would drop three things on the doorstep of Congress to change and turn the situation around: 1) my tax reform package, endorsed by the Wall Street Journal; 2) serious regulatory reform, Dodd-Frank, Obamacare repealed; 3) energy independence. Converting to natural gas is a 500,000 job creator.

This country needs more workers

HUNTSMAN: This country needs more workers. Can we say that? This country needs more workers, and we're not going to get more workers until we actually have an economic plan led by someone who has actually done it before, presumably as a governor, to create the environment in which the private sector can then work its magic. That's how we're going to get from point A to point B.

Utah job growth at 5%; unemployment under 3%

I would like the numbers to speak for themselves. During 2006:
• Nearly 60,000 new jobs were created in Utah--an historic high for our State
• Our job growth reached 5 percent, more than triple the national average
• Our unemployment rate of 2.5% reached unprecedented levels in State history and was among the lowest in the nation
• and Utah was recognized as America's sixth fastest growing state.