Washington (CNN) - A mostly positive jobs report Friday didn't stop Republicans from criticizing the White House over the economy.
Soon after the Labor Department announced that the U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs last month (more than economists had predicted), some top Republicans went on the attack.
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And the number they pointed to was the overall unemployment rate, which at 6.3% is the lowest level since September 2008, two months before Barack Obama was elected President. While that sounds like good news, the report notes that the jobless level, which comes from a survey of households, showed fewer people entering the workforce.
"While it's welcome news that more of our friends and neighbors found work in the past month, this report also indicates more than 800,000 Americans left the workforce last month, which is troubling," House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement.
There was similar language coming from the Republican National Committee
"We're happy that more Americans were able to find work last month, but more and more people are dropping out of our workforce-giving up on finding a job. These are men and women who desperately need work and want work, but with the same labor force lows from the Carter economy, there are simply no jobs for them," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement.
Boehner, Priebus, and others in the GOP went on to criticize the President and Democrats in Congress over their economic policies and proposals.
The White House praised the report, but said there's more work to do.
"The President continues to emphasize that more can and should be done to support the recovery, including acting on his own executive authority to expand economic opportunity, as well as pushing Congress for additional investments in infrastructure, education and research, an increase in the minimum wage, and a reinstatement of extended unemployment insurance benefits," Jason Furman, Chairman of the Council of Economic Adviser, said in a statement.
And a top Democrat in the House used the report to once again slam Republicans for shooting down Democratic Party pushes on income equality.
"Congress must do more to create an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy. Unfortunately, Republicans continue to stand in the way. Men and women in our country working full-time jobs are stuck raising their families in poverty, yet Republicans refuse to raise the minimum wage," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
View from Main Street
The positive news from Wall Street and Washington may not be resonating on Main Street. Many people just don't feel that good about things, and national polling indicates most people don't feel very optimistic about the economy and their personal plight.
Less than three in 10 questioned in an ABC News/Washington Post poll released this week said they describe the economy as good or excellent, with more than seven in 10 saying economic conditions in the country are not so good or poor. And only 28% say the economy's getting better, with 36% saying things are getting worse and 35% saying things are staying the same.
Just 27% of Americans say the country's heading in the right direction, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey out this week. More than six in 10 say the U.S. is on the wrong track.
"Because the recovery has been relatively modest, moderate in its strength, there's this psychology among people that it's just not getting better out in America," said CNN Chief Washington correspondent John King.
Special CNN coverage of 2014 midterm elections
The economy remains the top issue on the minds of voters. Economic realities, as well as perceptions, will influence voters in 2014. The big question is whether those economic realities, and perceptions, will change between now and the November midterm elections.