President hails 7th month of private job creation

President Barack Obama is hailing the seventh straight month of private job creation as a good sign for the economy. But he says the progress “needs to come faster.”

The president spoke at Gelberg Signs, a small business in
Washington, D.C., that is expanding and hiring workers under a law Obama signed earlier this year that gives tax  credits to small businesses who hire. 

His comments came as a new jobs report out Friday shows
companies lacked strong confidence in hiring for a third straight
month. The unemployment rate was stuck at 9.5 percent, and private employers added a net total of only 71,000 jobs, far below the 200,000 jobs a month needed to reduce the unemployment rate.

Obama says the country is now consistently adding jobs instead
of losing them in huge numbers. He said that for workers, the
progress must be accelerated. He called on Congress to take more
steps to help businesses.

Overall, the economy lost a net total of 131,000 jobs last month, as 143,000 temporary census jobs ended.

But Republicans reacted to the figures by blaming Obama, charging
that his policies were scaring employers and discouraging them from hiring.

The official unemployment numbers told only part of the story, as
the nation continues to struggle with its weakest job market in more
than a generation.

The Labor Department also said that businesses hired fewer workers in June than it had previously estimated. July’s private-sector job gains were revised down to 31,000 from 83,000. May was revised up slightly to show 51,000 net new jobs, from 33,000.

The “underemployment” rate was the same as in June, at 16.5 percent. That includes those working part time who would prefer full-time work and unemployed workers who’ve given up on their job hunts.

All told, there were 14.6 million people looking for work in July. That’s roughly double the figure in December 2007, when the recession began.