May Jobs Numbers Hurt Obama’s Chances for Re-election
President Obama is getting increased scrutiny for his handling of the economy. The recent jobs report showed an uptick in unemployment for all Americans, with the rate rising to 8.2% this month, from 8.1% last month. Black unemployment is far worse, at 13.6%.
There were only 69,000 jobs added to the economy in May, the lowest in a year. This was the third month in a row where jobs growth was weak.
“This is horrible,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, a consulting firm.
Mitt Romney is seizing the opportunity to criticize the president, telling CNBC that the jobs report was “devastating.”
Romney promised to “kill” the health care overhaul from the Obama Administration and reduce taxes and government spending. He said that to fix the economy, Obama must be defeated.
“It is now clear to everyone that President Obama’s policies have failed to achieve their goals and that the Obama economy is crushing America’s middle class,” said Romney.
Dealing with the damage, Obama gave a speech in Minnesota to Iraq veterans. He conceded that the economy is not growing fast enough, but promised improvement.
“We will come back stronger,” he said. “We do have better days ahead.”
Alan Krueger of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, has noted that President Obama had added jobs to the economy for the last 27 months in a row. He argues that this is an admirable feat.
Currently, a survey by The Associated Press shows that 52 percent of Americans disapprove of the way that President Obama is handling the economy. Only 46 percent approve.
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