Better jobs data a mixed blessing for Obama

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The United States 200,000 jobs in December, but it added there are still 6 million fewer jobs than in December 2007. NBC Tom Costello reports.

By John W. Schoen, senior producer

President Barack Obama claim that help his economic policies Americans have brought back in work showed a shot in the arm Friday when Government unemployment rate dropped data of the country at the lowest level in three years.

"We have made real progress," said Obama Friday after the latest employment report was released. "Now is not the time to stop."

The Government reported on Friday that the labour market in December, to a healthy clip expands pushing the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent. The news followed a series of reports on a broad revival of economic growth.

Private employers 200,000 workers added last month, the Labor Department said. It was the biggest gain in three months and a much stronger results, win the 150,000 economists expected had. Unemployment rate in November was seen by a notch to 8.7 percent, easing widespread fears that the sharp decline in October a month was by accident.

Gaining momentum with the presidential campaign has the data the White House a welcome reprieve of grim economic data that has dogged his presidency. What must be Obama in the election year for the good news to place continue the front or even accelerate.

"When we took over the Government, we lose 800,000 jobs haemorrhage were jobs, with major losses only of depression," said Minister of labour Hilda Solis. "Now see we a better trajectory where we are in the right direction." "I believe that the public supports the types of solutions, which the President speaks, but we must still do more."

Republicans wasted no time to play down the impact of the economic policies of the President.

"I can not give Washington, Congress or the Administration, in a credit whatsoever," said Senator Bob Corker, R-Tennessee "we simply did not have things that need to be done." This (improvement comes from) the private sector and its resistance despite the fact have we had very bad behavior of Washington. "

Vote: Do you see signs of improvement in the labour market?

It is also clear that will continue to improve the employment data for the next 10 months. The most economic forecasters see economic growth slow down in 2012. The Outlook is clouded by the ongoing debt crisis in Europe, expected to slip into a recession, even if a financial disaster can be averted.

The decline of which heading may unemployment rate blocked, even if the US economy continue to heal. The rate is partly as a result of a decrease in the official size of the workforce decreased. So-called unemployed workers find "discouraged" you better chances of getting, we start counting again and then get to reverse back in the workforce, which slow decrease in the unemployment rate or price as he.

When that happens, Friday could long since forgotten optimistic messages from election day.

"If I were sitting in the White House, I would go for the unemployment rate to bump a bit now rather as spring or summer when people come back in the workforce", economic strategist said Matt McDonald, a Republican.

The Obama administration to kick off report prod Congress continue to guidelines, the expansion of last year's salary and payroll tax cuts and unemployment insurance benefits include. After deadlock for weeks, Congress voted in December continues to these guidelines only for two months.

"It is important that we the economic policy, which continue, helping us to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the recession, 2007 began to the end of the year," said White House Chief Econmist Alan Krueger.

Republican opponents argue, that the costs of these policies and the impact on the deficit any suggestion compensate federal budget, which increases spending is the economy. Even Obama note supporters, that the White House can do it not much more is to create growth and jobs.

"Around in the basement, I was looking for", Austan Goolsbee, former Chief Economist of Obama said. "There are no big lever down there, you can flip and everything goes."

Although the jobs move numbers in the right direction, most voters think the country on the wrong track, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal, is the beginning of December. Only 22 percent believe taken the county located in the right direction; about 69 percent said pollsters that the United States in the wrong direction is headed.

"People still feel how labour market is hurting and they are right," said Stanford economist Ed Lazear, was Chief Economist for George W. Bush. "Even if this a very different labour market as we things better whenever 8.5 percent unemployment, you saw was the unemployment rate of 4.4 percent in 2007." "It's no wonder people so still fight the feeling like the labour market is, even if the move in the right direction."