The latest U.S. jobs report shows the country now has more people
employed than when President Barack Obama took office in January, 2009.
The latest Labor Department figures issued Friday counters one of
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s key talking points -
that the nation has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs since the
president took office.
Romney was campaigning in the political battleground state of
Pennsylvania Friday as news that revised labor figures indicate that
while 13 million workers are unemployed, U.S. employers have added
almost 400,000 more jobs during the 12 months ending in March than
previously estimated.
That means the overall number of jobs in the U.S. labor market is now
125,000 higher than when Obama came into office, and that the jobs
created since then offset those lost during his term.
For Romney, the news comes after an already tough couple of weeks for
his campaign. The Republican candidate's standing has fallen since a
video surfaced earlier this month showing him telling wealthy supporters
that 47 percent of Americans pay no taxes and consider themselves
"victims" entitled to government support.
Recent
polls indicate President Obama has a significant lead over his
Republican challenger in Pennsylvania and many of the other so-called
swing states expected to decide the November 6 election.
The assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute,
Peter Brown, says the presidential debates, which start next week, may
be Romney's best chance to reverse the trend in his favor.
The Republican candidate will spend time in the next few days preparing
for the first of the three debates, scheduled to take place Wednesday.
He also held a fundraiser in Boston, the capital of his home state of
Massachusetts.
President Obama also focused on raising money Friday with his own
fundraising events in Washington, and will begin debate practice
sessions Sunday.
