Improved jobs report still prompts GOP ire
(CNN) – A better-than-expected jobs report Friday was still cause for concern among Republicans, who said the wide swath of Americans still looking for work were being poorly served by President Barack Obama's policies.
"Today's jobs report brings some good news for a lucky few who found jobs–but not nearly enough hope for the millions of Americans who still need work," wrote Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus in a statement issued shortly after the jobs report's release. He singled out the Affordable Care Act, Obama's sweeping health care law, as a cause for further unemployment.
"Frustratingly, with the 'train wreck' of Obamacare implementation on the horizon, job creation is more likely to slow down than to speed up," Priebus wrote. "Already, it's increasing the cost of healthcare, which in turn means fewer jobs, fewer hours, and less take home pay for those struggling for work."
Friday's jobs report showed the U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in April. That was more than economists expected and marked an improvement over March.
Another major storyline was the large revisions to earlier job growth numbers. Revisions to the February and March figures showed an additional 114,000 jobs were added over those months alone.
The unemployment rate fell to 7.5% in April, as 11.7 million people were counted as unemployed. That's still high compared to historical levels.
House Speaker John Boehner acknowledged there was "good news" in Friday's report, but stressed "the president's policies still aren't providing the robust economic growth and job creation the American people desperately need."
"To get things moving, we need to seize opportunities the president has been ignoring, and focus on growing our economy rather than growing more government," the Ohio Republican wrote. "That means expanding energy production and modernizing our laws to make life work for more American families."
Alan Krueger, the chairman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, wrote in a statement that "more work remains to be done" to spur hiring.
"Today's employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression," Krueger wrote. Identical statements are released after every monthly jobs report. "It is critical that we remain focused on pursuing policies to speed job creation and expand the middle class, as we continue to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007."
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If Romney was president and this exact number came out, the GOP would shout cheers in the streets and gloat about how much more successful the new administration is than the old one.
Want more jobs in this country? Dismantle Social Security and Medicare. If the American people didn't have these taxes deducted form there pay checks Americans could create 12 million more jobs. Socialism is killing this country.
Rand Paul 2016
Republicans are just full of baloney. Vote all of them out in 2014 (and 2016.)
Dear Republicans: Please tell us exactly what you have done to help President Obama for the last 4.5 years.
The GOP can't be happy about anything that reflects positively on this administration. Sad bunch of people!
How true, tony in NYC. Isn't American politics so lame!
Not a Republican but maybe the GOP are upset that CNN is rejoicing the rich getting richer while the truth is more people in America are poorer under Obama than since the great depression. Maybe it is because unemployment rate is still 7.5 % and is the same !as when Obama took office. Maybe it is because we are 17 trillion in debt with absolutely nothing to show for it. Maybe CNN should not be working for Obama.
Despite the GOPs best efforts to insure Obama fails, the economy improves, and my retirement savings are at an all time high, now contrast that with the disaster at the conclusion of Bush's term.
TonyInNYC – You are dead on in that assessment! Not only is the GOP pathetic at making progress, they are also terrible at stopping others from making progress!
I agree with the GOP that more work needs to be done and A LOT of people are still out of work. For the American economy, 7.5% is never a "good" number. But, no matter how a person tries to shake this down, these numbers are a very positive sign for the economy. I for one am glad. I hope it continues. I fear it won't. Not unlike the Democrats during the Bush years, always screaming about a "jobless recovery" and prophesying doom and gloom for 7 years before it finally happened, the GOP is playing the political game.
Any chance all these un-patriotic, immature, pathetic, racially conflicted Republicans (pardon the redundancy) can just keep quiet, or just go away? They are just so irritating.
Still can't accept the fact that the black muslim guy seems to be doing ok........
Oh yeah, they will be better served by greedy legislature.
Remember this is the party that admitted they won't do what's right if it would make the President look good. So I must take anything the weapy orange guy from Ohio says with a grain of salt, probably more like the whole salt mine. Come on middle class republicans get rid of these traitors.
Hey Wade, who got us into an unjust, unpaid war at 9 billion dollars a month? Your prejudicial stereotypes are very revealing, probably to everyone but yourself, Rush, Sarah, Sean, Rick, etc.
Dear Anonymous – why should the republicans do anything to help the dim wit? Besides, you do realize that the jobless number goes down primarly when people drop out of the workforce, right? The jobs that have been added to date 1) aren't enough by half and 2) are primarly those with very low wages. That's not a victory, that's a very quiet "well, that's a small improvement." Your "leader" is going to have to do far better by the American people before he can claim a success.
garbage in garbage out
Just one more demonstration that the GOP people in government are a bunch of nasty nerds. You are the NRA both belong in the garbage can.
It has been working for my 401K. Under Bushes, I moved everything to fixed incomes and bond areas. Under, Bill Clinton and Obama, I moved everything out to stocks. My 401K has been up 5 times since I started working and contributing to it in 1989.
@Tea Party Thomas –
Thanks, but we tried that eighty years ago. Didn't work then, won't work now.
Go read something that isn't Ayn Rand, okay?
It seems like we vote most of the GOP out things recover. I wish people would remember this longer than an election cycle.
Hey Wade, how about we look at unemployment in July 2009 NOT 1/20/2009. You can not look at the January number except the convenience of haters. The number July 2009 was 9.4%, thats a more real number tol look at. How about the stock market BTW?
@Fair is Fair, Even if what you claim was true why would you blame the AHCA and not the greedy bast**** who are picking and choosing who gets and who doesn't get the same excellent health benefits that every single one of the pickers and choosers enjoys? I t just shows that you can't be for both the GOP and for basic fairness, so, if fair was fair, you would change your pseudonym.
The GOP will NEVER say anything good about improving conditions thanks to President Obama's policies.
You've got the GOP who will do ANYTHING to prevent ANY legislation from passing while a black man is in the White House.
And even when the fiscal policies of stimulation are shown to now be working and working well, you will never hear a good word from any of the racists in the GOP.
These next elections in 2014 and 2016 could well spell the end of the GOP.
And none too soon.
.
How sad is it that when our economy recovers under a democrat like Clinton and Obama that it is some kind of conspiracy to the republicans? It's just better policies.