Mitt Romney blasted the President's economic policies Friday after a disappointing jobs report was released by the Labor Department.
According to a Bloomberg survey, analysts predicted 205,000 nonfarm jobs to be added this past month. But the actual numbers fell far below this at 120,000 - half of the total added in February.
The Republican presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts Governor wasted no time in tying the low numbers to Obama's own job performance.
"It is increasingly clear the Obama economy is not working and that after three years in office the President's excuses have run out," Romney said in a statement Friday morning.
Calling the report "weak and very troubling," Romney added, "The employment market remains stagnant. Millions of Americans are paying a high price for President Obama's economic policies, and more and more people are growing so discouraged that they are dropping out of the labor force altogether."
At an event rolling out the White House's new report on women and the economy this morning, the President framed the jobs report in a positive manner.
"Right now, no issue is more important than restoring economic security for all our families...We welcome today's news that our businesses created another 121,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate ticked down. Our economy has now created more than 4 million private sector jobs over the past two years, and more than 600,000 in the past three months alone," he told a group of businesswomen and leaders.
"But it's clear to every American that there will still be ups and downs along the way, and that we've got a lot more work to do," the President added, acknowledging criticism of the numbers.
March's jobs numbers, to be released a month from now, will be a key cue to Romney's possible strategy heading into April's remaining GOP primaries in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
A total 231 delegates are up for grabs in these contests, which could catapult Romney even more clearly into the top Republican spot for the presidential nomination.
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Political News
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.