GOP Leaders Downplay Dip In Jobless Rate

House GOP leaders downplayed the dip in the nation’s unemployment rate from 9 percent to 8.6 percent Friday morning, the lowest recorded rate in nearly three years.

“Today’s unemployment numbers certainly look good on its surface,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said at a Friday press conference. “If you look at the number of new jobs created, there’s just not enough new jobs being created in America.”

According to the latest unemployment numbers, the economy added 120,000 jobs in November. Despite seeing jobs totals reach at least 100,000 in the past three months - September numbers were revised showing 210,000 new jobs were added, an uptick of 52,000 from the initial report - House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) voiced his concern over the period of time in which the jobless rate has remained above 8 percent. 

“The jobless rate in our country is still unacceptably high, Boehner said. “Today marks the 34th consecutive month of unemployment above eight percent.”

Though Republican leaders welcomed the dip in the unemployment rate as “good news,” they remained skeptical of Obama’s economic agenda. Boehner used the opportunity to call on President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate to take up 25 House-passed bills, all of which are considered job creators by House Republicans.

“It is time for the president to admit, after being able to enact all the major tenants of his agenda… that ultimately his policies are not working,” Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said. “We would ask Mr. President to please asks Mr. Reid to pass our jobs bills.”

White House Economist Warns Of Volatile Employment Numbers

Alan Krueger went right to work Friday as the official Chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, reminding Americans not to read to much into the latest employment figures. 

Krueger, whose nomination was unanimously confirmed by the Senate late Thursday night, said in a statement that, although new government data shows that the economy continues to grow, he remains wary the slow pace of recovery is keeping Americans out of work. 

“Despite adverse shocks that have created headwinds for economic growth, the economy has added private sector jobs for 20 straight months,” the statement read. “We need faster economic growth to put more Americans back to work.”

The 80,000 jobs added to the market in October is significantly lower than economists previously predicted. Most notably, the construction sector lost 20,000 jobs, a market Krueger said could have been remedied with the infrastructure bill that was rejected in the Senate earlier this week.

“The report underscores that one area that remains notably weak is the construction sector,” Krueger said. “That’s why it is disappointing that the Senate was not abele to proceed to the infrastructure part of the American Jobs Act.”

Though the nation’s jobless rate fell by a slim margin from 9.1 to 9 percent and the economy added 80,000 jobs, Krueger was adamant in reminding people that monthly figures can be subject to change. Initially, August’s report indicated that the economy added zero jobs. According to Krueger, the number of jobs added in August skyrocketed to 104,000 following a series of revisions. 

“The monthly employment and unemployment numbers are volatile and employment estimates are subject to substantial revision,” Krueger said. “This illustrates why the Administration always stresses it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report.”