Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney slammed President Barack Obama’s economic policies Friday after learning of the results of the latest unemployment report.
“We welcome the fact that jobs were created and unemployment declined. Unfortunately, these numbers cannot hide the fact that President Obama’s policies have prevented a true economic recovery,” Mr. Romney said in a press release.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent in January. This is the fifth straight month time that the unemployment rate has fallen. The unemployment rate is now the lowest that it has been in three years.
“We can do better. Last week, we learned that the economy grew only 1.7% in 2011, the slowest growth in a non-recession year since the end of World War II. As a result, the percentage of Americans in the job market continues to decline and is now at a level not seen since the early 1980s. Nearly 24 million Americans remain unemployed, underemployed, or have just stopped looking for work. Long-term unemployment remains at record levels,” Mr. Romney professed.
A lower unemployment rate is great news for Mr. Obama, as the Republican presidential candidates have made it a habit of attacking the former Illinois senator’s economic policies in campaign speeches and at numerous Republican debates.
Whether a lower unemployment rate will help Mr. Obama defeat the eventual Republican presidential nominee is uncertain. Mr. Obama tied Mr. Romney, the Republican front-runner, in a Rasmussen Reports poll of general election voters Friday.
“I am running for president because I have the vision and experience to help rebuild the economy and put us on a path toward greater prosperity for all Americans,” Mr. Romney said at the end of his statement.
