The Obama Administration and the nation have cause to breathe a sign of relief as today’s monthly jobs report shows 243,000 jobs were created in January. Those numbers are of course good news, another positive sign of recovery, and another clear indication of the enduring strength of the American economy and American economic system. But, really, so long after recession’s end, we should be doing much better — and would be but for President Barack Obama’s debilitating anti-growth policies. In reality, the economy is recovering despite — not because of — Obama’s policies. Make no mistake: 243,000 jobs is good, but we should be seeing numbers upwards of 350,000. America can and should do better.
For millions of Americans, last month’s strong job growth is a bright spot that they unfortunately cannot see. While the unemployment rate has fallen to 8.3 percent, it fell from lofty heights that lasted far too long. And even at 8.3 percent, 12.8 million Americans remain unemployed, and the high unemployment among women, teenagers, whites, and Hispanics remained steady. What’s more, the number of long-term unemployed — which stands at 5.5 million — remained relatively unchanged, meaning that 42.9 percent of Americans have been out of work for 27 weeks or more. On top of that, there were 1.1 million “discouraged workers” in January — meaning that they’re sitting on the sidelines not looking for work because they believe no jobs are available.
But what do all these numbers mean? Let’s put today’s job report into context using the President’s own words — promises that weren’t mentioned in the President’s State of the Union address. In January 2009, President Obama’s advisers produced a chart projecting that with the President’s economic plan, the unemployment rate would plummet to levels much lower than those we’re seeing today. And the President pledged that if his trillion-dollar stimulus plan were enacted, unemployment never would rise above 8 percent — a promise that has been broken every month since the stimulus became law.
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