A day after the final ACA numbers for the year showed massive participation by the American people, President Obama got another big win when the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since September 2008.
According to the Department Of Labor:
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 288,000, and the unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 6.3 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment gains were widespread, led by job growth in professional and business services, retail trade, food services and drinking places, and construction.
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In April, the unemployment rate fell from 6.7 percent to 6.3 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, at 9.8 million, decreased by 733,000. Both measures had shown little movement over the prior 4 months. Over the year, the
unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons declined by 1.2 percentage points and 1.9 million, respectively.
Analysts also suggested that the data revealed that the Republican refusal to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed is causing those people to leave the labor market. This report is a double whammy for Republicans. Despite their best efforts people are still finding jobs, and their ideological belief that taking away unemployment benefits forces people to find jobs is being proven false.
President Obama’s economic agenda is working, and here is the graph that proves it:
With the unemployment rate at its lowest level since September 2008, Democrats are focusing on an agenda that both helps the long term unemployed find new jobs, and the economy as whole grow. According to the White House, “The employment data can fluctuate from month-to-month, and while this month’s report happens to be above expectations, it is still broadly consistent with the recent trends we have been seeing in the labor market. The President continues to emphasize that more can and should be done to support the recovery, including acting on his own executive authority to expand economic opportunity, as well as pushing Congress for additional investments in infrastructure, education and research, an increase in the minimum wage, and a reinstatement of extended unemployment insurance benefits.”
Republicans thought the political environment was working in their favor, but the one-two punch of huge Obamacare participation and a rapidly declining unemployment rate could be setting a better than expected landscape for Democrats. Unlike the Republicans, Democrats have something to campaign on, and every Democratic voter has a reason to get out and vote.
It’s been a good week to be President Obama, and an even better week for the American people.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
