Reactions to the May jobs report released by the Labor Department Friday were unsurprisingly mixed, with the Obama administration touting it as a sign that the economic recovery continues, while Republicans argued that the increase was only temporary.
Earlier in the day, the Labor Department's May jobs report showed that the economy added 431,000 jobs for the month, while the unemployment rate decreased to 9.7%.
While the increase in jobs in May marked the fastest pace of job growth since March of 2000, the increase was primarily due to the addition of 411,000 temporary employees to work on the census. At the same time, the private sector added only 41,000 jobs in May
President Barack Obama said that the added jobs show that the economy is "again moving in the right direction."
He said the economic policies his administration has put into place are working and that an economy that was "shrinking at an alarming rate in January of 2009 has now been growing for three consecutive quarters."
In addition, the President argued that, while the country was losing an average of 750,000 jobs a month during the winter of last year, "we have now added jobs for six out of the last seven months."
However, Obama did note that his administration understands that the economic recovery is still in its early stages and that "there will be ups and downs in the months ahead." Ultimately, however, he said the report is "a sign that our economy is getting stronger by the day."
Council of Economic Advisers Chairwoman Christina Romer said the report shows "continued signs of labor market recovery."
Additionally, she said that the fact that the unemployment rate fell and private employment rose "are obviously encouraging signs that recovery continues."
Romer added, however, that the continued high level of unemployment and the slowdown in private sector job growth "emphasize the need for continuing vigilance" and that the administration "strongly supports targeted actions to spur private sector job creation."
On the other hand, House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said that, despite the positive numbers, it is "disappointing that nearly all of those gains are temporary, taxpayer-funded government jobs through the U.S. Census."
In addition, Boehner noted that Obama's stimulus package was supposed to keep unemployment below 8%, adding that the promise that 90% of the jobs it created would be in the private sector "has fallen short."
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., said that the two biggest things growing in the U.S. today are "the size of the federal government and the crushing burden of the national debt."
He added that when America "truly begins creating jobs that help our economy grow, it will be despite our government, not because of it."
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