[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The White House said Friday it was critical to maintain President Barack Obama'sOn this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today...
policies despite a rise in the jobless rate and blamed factors, including Europe's woes, for dire economic data.
"Problems in the job market were long in the making and will not be solved overnight," said Alan Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors in a statement.
A White House damage control effort swung into action after much worse than expected data from the Labor Department that showed the economy only added 69,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent.
The dismal report signalled that the much hoped-for recovery in the job market has stalled and fuelled speculation that it may prompt the Federal Reserve to step in with a fresh round of economic stimulus.
"There is much more work that remains to be done to repair the damage caused by the financial crisis and deep recession that began at the end of 2007," said Krueger in a written statement.
"Just like last year at this time, our economy is facing serious headwinds, including the crisis in Europe and a spike in gas prices that hit American families' finances over the past months.
"It is critical that we continue the President's economic policies that are helping us dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession."
Krueger argued that Obama had proposed policies to create jobs and strengthen the economy, including those that would put teachers back to work and police on the streets and create employment through infrastructure projects.