Obama: Job Growth Shows Policies are Working

Responding to today's news that more jobs were created in April, in spite of a rising unemployment rate, President Obama said today that the "difficult and at times unpopular steps we've taken over the past year are making a difference."

From his first days in office, Mr. Obama said outside the White House, "I've said the truest measure of progress would be whether or not we were creating jobs."

The Labor Department reported today that 290,000 jobs were created in April -- but the unemployment rate increased to 9.9 percent.

The increased jobless rate is "largely a reflection of the fact that workers that had dropped out of the workforce entirely are now seeking jobs again," Mr. Obama said.

The president highlighted the fact that 230,000 jobs added last month were in the private sector, which he said was due in part to growth in economic output. Reports last week showed the gross domestic product increasing.

"This steady growth is starting to give businesses the confidence to expand and hire new people," Mr. Obama said.

Given that 8 million jobs were lost over the course of the recession, however, the president said there was still more work to do.

"I give you my word I'm going to keep fighting every single day to create jobs and opportunities," he said. "We're not going to rest until we put this difficult chapter behind us."

The president also said he spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after yesterday's extreme stock market fluctuations, first thought to have been caused by anxiety over Greece's debt problems, and told her the United States supports Europe's efforts to deal with its financial crisis.

Stephanie Condon

Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.

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