Obama administration puts best face on disappointing jobless report
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President Obama on Friday greeted the latest disappointing jobless numbers by noting that any recovery from the recession is bound to be choppy.
Speaking at a trucking company outside of Washington, D.C., Obama said the economy has seen job gains for the past five months after the sharp recession that has marked his entire tenure.
“Things never go completely in a smooth line,” Obama said in televised remarks.
But the president remained upbeat: “This report is a sign that our economy is getting stronger by the day,” he said.
Earlier this week, Obama was more optimistic about the jobless numbers in his major economic speech in Pennsylvania.
“An economy that was shrinking at an alarming rate when I became president has now been growing for three consecutive quarters,” Obama said then. “After losing an average of 750,000 jobs a month during the winter of last year, we’ve now added jobs for five of the last six months, and we expect to see strong job growth in Friday’s report.”
The Labor Department figures released on Friday showed that the unemployment rate dipped to 9.7%, but the number of jobs created was less than expected, with only about 41,000 of the 431,000 jobs created in the private sector. The rest of the new jobs were government hires connected to the census.
It wasn’t just Obama who was disappointed by the labor numbers. The Dow Jones industrial average fell about 230 points, or 2.3%, in early trading.
Republicans greeted the jobless numbers by contending the economic recovery remained weak.
“Count me among the millions of Americans who welcome a jobs report that shows jobs gained rather than more jobs lost,” said the House Republican whip, Eric Cantor of Virginia. “But a look beneath the numbers should give this administration – and every American – cause for concern. We have to begin to address the structural deficiencies in our economy. Temporary or government jobs are not optimal, and private sector job growth simply isn’t keeping pace with a growing labor force.”
In her prepared statement, Christina Romer, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, said the numbers were encouraging, especially the two-tenths of a percentage point drop in the overall unemployment rate.
“While these are encouraging developments, we clearly have a very long way to go until the labor market is fully recovered,’ she stated.
“The fact that the unemployment rate fell and private employment rose are obviously encouraging signs that recovery continues. At the same time, the continued high level of unemployment and the slowdown in private sector job growth emphasize the need for continuing vigilance,” she said.
-- Michael Muskal
Vice President Joe Biden looks on.
