Both parties skeptical of sharp drop in unemployment rate

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Updated at 12:05 p.m. ET

The U.S. unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years, the Labor Department reported Friday, but Republicans and Democrats alike are responding with limited optimism, tempered with a heavy dose of caution.

But while Democrats are pointing to the steady (albeit slow) growth in the economy as a sign of President Obama's success, Republicans say the details of the Labor Department's report reveal that job seekers are losing the "hope" that inspired them to support the president in 2008.

Employers added 120,000 jobs last month, bringing the unemployment rate to 8.6 percent in November. That's the lowest jobless rate since March 2009, but there are still 13.3 million Americans unemployed. One key reason the jobless rate fell (down from 9 percent in October) is that roughly 315,000 people simply gave up looking for work and are technically no longer considered "unemployed."

Mr. Obama, while visiting a Washington office building undergoing energy efficiency retrofitting, pointed out that, "despite some strong headwinds, this year the economy has now created, in the private sector, jobs for nearly 21 months in a row."

Following up on an earlier initiative to promote energy-efficient construction, Mr. Obama today announced that he's directing all federal agencies to make at least $2 billion worth of energy efficiency upgrades over the next two years. Flanked by former President Bill Clinton, Mr. Obama said energy efficiency upgrades will create construction jobs, save businesses money on energy bills and cut down on pollution.

Mr. Obama said he was directing federal agencies to take action because he couldn't wait for Congress to provide the proper incentives for private businesses to do the upgrades. "As president, my most pressing challenge is doing everything I can, every single day to get this economy growing faster," he said.

Alan Krueger, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, said in a White House blog post that the unemployment report "provides further evidence that the economy is continuing to heal from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, but the pace of improvement is still not fast enough given the large job losses from the recession that began in December 2007."

Krueger pointed out that the world economy is in a fragile state, leaving the U.S. economy vulnerable to more downward swings. "In this environment, the President's American Jobs Act is the right medicine to sustain and strengthen the recovery," he wrote.

While the White House wants more stimulus to speed up the economy, Republicans countered that the president's policies, particularly the 2009 stimulus, have failed to meet expectations.

"Any job creation is welcome news, but the jobless rate in this country is still unacceptable," House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement. "As you may remember, the Obama administration promised unemployment would stay below eight percent if its 'stimulus' was enacted. That promise has gone unfulfilled."

Boehner said the Senate should pass the more than two-dozen bills the House GOP has passed with the intent of limiting government interference in business and thus boosting the economy.

Similarly, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus called the falling unemployment rate "positive news for American families heading into the holiday season," but also pointed to the "troubling trend" of workers leaving the labor force.

"America hasn't seen the progress we were promised," he said, referring to the 2009 stimulus.

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, meanwhile, slammed the House GOP's jobs agenda as misguided and "ideologically driven."

"These are further positive signs for our recovery, but as long as Republicans continue to avoid passing a real jobs plan we will be unable to achieve the kind of significant job creation we need," he said.

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney said the president's response to the state of the economy has been unacceptable.

"The Obama administration may have come to accept such a high level of joblessness as the new normal. I will never accept it," Romney said in a statement. "To me, the fact that so many millions of Americans are unemployed only highlights the urgent need for a fundamental change in the direction of our country... This is not exactly the hope and change that the American people bargained for."

[wfw3536]

Obama and the democrats brag about the unemployment numbers and what it really shows is we gain 120 thousand jobs and over 300 thousand folks just gave up looking for jobs and are no longer counted. Yes, this is that real job growth Obama promised us 3 years ago. This administration just doesn't have a clue on what to do.

[focusonjobs1]

I know you are but what am I

[focusonjobs1]

Our cash flows through our economy like blood in our cardiovascular system, let's say our brain is the top 1%, the Government is the heart and the rest of us make up the body. Right now half of the blood supply is stuck in the brain and the rest of the body is forced to make it on what's left. The rich continue to stock pile money at an alarming rate and can't/won't spend enough or invest enough of their money back into the economy to make it work properly, so we are in desperate need of some blood redistribution (redistribution of wealth). Our heart need to force more blood (money) through the rest of the body. Bottom line is money needs to circulate through the economy, not flow to the top and sit in their bank accounts. When consumers have no money to buy goods and services, the economy grinds to a halt and putting more money in wealthy people's accounts or deregulation is going to create more money for consumers' to spend.....some of the money that is currently going to the top needs to be redirected to the bottom for the middleclass to prosper.

[perish6]

By what means?

[focusonjobs1]

perish5/6 or who ever, We should all ask the large corporations and the wealthy who are sitting on all the money, "pretty please would spend more, donate more or invest more so the middleclass can return"? (Sarcasm) The only way is to tax the wealthy to pay down our debt and invest in our country thru infrastructure projects, education and tax breaks for the middleclass.

[sweetcakesmaria]

Republicans seems interested only in downing the President's 2009 stimulus while intentionally misleading Americans into believing that the 2009 stimulus did nothing to save this Country from a deep depression. If Republicans in this Country were really interested in jobs, they would petition the do nothing Republicans in Congress to cooperate with the President in passing a jobs bill that can help put Americans back to work. People need to remember that during the 2010 fall elections, creating jobs were the Republicans platform. What happened to those Republicans that got elected into Congress in 2010 based on their promise to create jobs? The current Republican strategy is to do nothing that will help create jobs while at the same time, blaming the lack of progress in creating jobs on President Obama's policies. The Republicans are hoping that their grand scheme (do nothing that helps Obama) will win them the White House in 2012.

[steeepe]

And what does the GOP have to offer to help jobs! NOTHING!!! They keep bloviating about cutting taxes on the wealthy (the "job creators") even though it is a complete fiction. There's no bigger bunch of liars and hypocrites than the GOP. Granted, most politicians are shady, but the GOP is full of 'em.

[dzaffina]

Boehner: If Jobs Are Lost As A Result Of GOP Spending Cuts 'So Be It'

[democracy8]

Yeah, but they're not against letting the payroll tax rate go up again.

[tsigili]

That's because the lower rate is not real. It is simply a manipulation, based on how the numbers are generated, and that is the bottom line.

When people give up trying, that doesn't mean jobs were created, nor when they take temporary holiday jobs, that only last a few weeks.

[norcalruss]

Republicans say the details of the Labor Department's report reveal that job seekers are losing the "hope" that inspired them to support the president in 2008.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Only these losers in the GOP can take positive news, "the economy is improving" and try to find something in it to blame Obama. I guess they have to play this card because it is the only way they have any chance of winning in 2012. It is sad that the negative, obstructionist, nay-sayers only hope is preaching gloom and doom and fear & loathing.

[bajajohn1]

All the job creation front opposition is coming from those who are being regulated under Dodd-Frank; the necessary regulation to prevent the republicans from continuing to destroy the American economy.

[bajajohn1]

All progress on the economic front is being accomplished without help from republicans, who continue to obstruct all job creation initiatives coming from the President and the Democratic Party.

[democracy8]

Yup

[perish6]

This is just sad. The democrtas are celebrating because 315,000 people dropped off the government roles of the unemployed into oblivion. You do know that this means that 315,000 people are no longer eligible for benefits. It is as if the Democrats are happy that 315,000 people are going to starve to death because of the president's lack of ability to work with anyone or to put his attack and insult rhetoric away and work towrd the good of the nation.
He really is the worst threat this nation faces.

[bajajohn1]

You and your ilk are responsible for unemployment in America.

[realist51]

Well you could always call your republicant representatives and see if they will put these people back on unemployment so they have an income and then go back onto the unemployment statistics. don't be a fool there aren't any democrat's that are celebrating anyone being unemployed. Sure would be nice if those so called job creators would use there tax cut monies to really create jobs to employ people but as the last ten years has shown . tax cuts are a dismal failure at creating jobs.