A Push For Jobs

This is the weekly address by President Obama. Here’s what been said, “Every moth since January, when I become your president, I’ve spoken to you about the periodic reports of the Labor Department on the number of jobs created or lost during the previsou month, numbers that tell a story about how America’s economy is faring overall.

In those first months, the numbers were nothing short ofdevastating. The worst recession since the 1930’s had wrecked havoc on the lives of so many of our fellow Americans.

Pushing Forward on Jobs

In December, the numbers released by the Labor Department reflected a continuing positive trend of diminishing job loss. But for those who were laid off last month and the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession, a good trend isn’t good enough. Trends don’t buy groceries. Trends don’t pay the rent or a college tuition. Trends don’t fulfill the needs within each of us to be productive, to provide for our families, to make the most of our lives, to reach for our dreams.

So, it’s true that we, as a country, are in a very different place than we were when 2009 began. Because of the Recovery Act and a number of other steps we’ve taken, we’re no longer facing the potential collapse of our financial system or a second Great Depression. We’re no longer losing jobs at a rate of 700,000 a month. And our economy’s growing for the first time in a year.

But too many of our neighbors are still out of work because the growth we’ve seen hasn’t yet translated into all the jobs we need. Stung by this brutal recession, businesses that have kept their doors open are still wary about adding workers. Instead of hiring, many are simply asking their employees to work more hours, or they’re adding temporary help.

History tells us this is usually what happens with recessions — even as the economy grows, it takes time for jobs to follow. But the folks who have been looking for work without any luck for months and, in some cases, years, can’t wait any longer. For them, I am determined to do everything I can to accelerate our progress so we’re actually adding jobs again.

That’s why, President Obama has invited a group of business owners from all across the country to the White House to talk about additional steps we can take to help jumpstart hiring. We brought together unions and universities to talk about what we can do to support our workers today and prepare our students to outcompete workers around the world tomorrow.

We brought together mayors and community leaders to talk about how we can open up new opportunities in our cities and towns.

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Other Resources

• Getting Our Money Back From Wall Street via A Financial Reform Fee
• Obama Job Summit
• President Obama Weekly Address July 11, 2009
• President Obama Weekly Address April 25