USA: President Barack Obama hails a drop in the U.S. jobless rate to the lowest level since he took office, saying the country has "come too far to turn back now," as he seeks to bounce back from a lackluster debate performance

Record ID: 347697

  • Title: USA: President Barack Obama hails a drop in the U.S. jobless rate to the lowest level since he took office, saying the country has "come too far to turn back now," as he seeks to bounce back from a lackluster debate performance
  • Date: 6th October 2012
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) MAN AT EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CENTER COUNTER POSTER ON WALL "JOB SEEKERS" JOB LISTINGS BOOKS ON TABLE VARIOUS OF CROWDS AT JOBS FAIR
  • Embargoed: 21st October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Economy,Employment,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6WV5DJ1LZGBFZECN0REY7IY56
  • Story Text: President Barack Obama on Friday (October 5) hailed the drop in the U.S. jobless rate in September to the lowest level since he took office as a "a reminder this country has come too far to turn back now."
    A decline in the U.S. unemployment rate to its lowest level since January 2009, announced a month before the election, is expected to give his campaign a boost after he performed poorly in a debate with Republican opponent Mitt Romney.
    "More Americans entered the workforce, more people are getting jobs," Obama told a campaign rally at George Mason University in Virginia. "Now, every month reminds us that we've still got too many friends and neighbors who are looking for work."
    "Today's news is certainly not an excuse to try to talk down the economy to score a few political points," he said, taking a swipe at Romney Labor Department data released on Friday (October 5) showed the jobless rate dropped by 0.3 percentage point in September to 7.8 percent, its lowest since January 2009. Employers added 114,000 workers to their payrolls.
    Romney had made the president's failure to drive the rate below eight percent a key plank in his campaign.
    In a new ad released on the same day as the jobs report, the Republican nominee focuses on creating jobs in Ohio.
    It was the second to last jobs report before the November 6 election that pits Obama against Republican Mitt Romney, and possibly the one that will garner the most attention from voters.
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