Presidential candidate Mitt Romney did not have anything good to say about Friday’s jobs report showing unemployment down to 7.8 percent.
“This is not what a real recovery looks like,” he said in a statement. “The results of President Obama’s failed policies are staggering – 23 million Americans struggling for work, nearly one in six living in poverty and 47 million people dependent on food stamps to feed themselves and their families.”
Instead of the lower unemployment rate, Romney focused on the fact that only 114,000 jobs were created in September, fewer than in previous months. And he emphasized the impact on the numbers of those who have stopped looked for work. While labor force participation went up in September, it is still below what it was four years ago.
The full statement is below.
“This is not what a real recovery looks like. We created fewer jobs in September than in August, and fewer jobs in August than in July, and we’ve lost over 600,000 manufacturing jobs since President Obama took office. If not for all the people who have simply dropped out of the labor force, the real unemployment rate would be closer to 11 percent. The results of President Obama’s failed policies are staggering – 23 million Americans struggling for work, nearly one in six living in poverty and 47 million people dependent on food stamps to feed themselves and their families. The choice in this election is clear. Under President Obama, we’ll get another four years like the last four years. If I’m elected, we will have a real recovery with pro-growth policies that will create 12 million new jobs and rising incomes for everyone.”