Obama on Economy: "Road to Recovery is Never Straight"
The 85,000 figure represented higher-than-expected jobs losses, though the unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent.
The president said the numbers were the latest reminder that "we have to continue to work every single day to get our economy moving again."
Mr. Obama noted that while jobs are still being lost, the situation has improved significantly from the beginning of last year. The number of lost jobs in the final quarter of last year, he noted, were one-tenth of the job losses in the first quarter of the year.
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After briefly addressing the jobs report, the president spoke about the administration's clean energy manufacturing initiative, which provides $2.3 billion in tax credits for clean energy technology.
"Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future, jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced," he said.
The president noted that China is currently leading the way in trying to make its economy more energy efficient, and said that while America "spearheaded the development of solar technology…we've fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it."
He said that while he welcomes international competition around developing clean energy technologies, "I don't want America to lose that competition."
He said the clean energy manufacturing initiative, which provides the tax credits to companies that do things like build wind turbines, produce solar panels and assemble advanced batteries, will help America become a leader in developing clean energy.
The initiative, he said, would reach 40 states, generate 17,000 jobs and boost the manufacturing center.
He said because the government has not had the money to fund all of the qualified applicants seeking assistance, he is urging Congress to invest $5 billion in the program as part of a forthcoming jobs initiative.
"I am confident that if we harness the ingenuity of companies like [wind turbine manufacturer] TPI Composites, if we can tap the talents of our workers and our innovators and our entrepreneurs, if we can gain the lead in clean energy worldwide, then we'll forge a future where a better life is possible in our country over the long run," he said.