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Obama: Job Growth 'Trend Is Clear'

Before making his remarks, the president toured the Thompson Creek Manufacturing factory in Landover, Md., with CEO Rick Wuest (right).
Charles Dharapak
/
AP
Before making his remarks, the president toured the Thompson Creek Manufacturing factory in Landover, Md., with CEO Rick Wuest (right).

This morning's report on a drop in the nation's unemployment rate last month and a 103,000-increase in jobs, is evidence that "the trend is clear," President Obama just said: "the pace of hiring is beginning to pick up."

He cited "12 straight months of private sector job growth" and a 1.3 million-increase in payroll employment over the past year as further evidence.

Still, Obama added, "we've got a big hole that we're digging ourselves out of."

"This was a brutal recession," said the president, "the worst in our lifetimes."

Obama was speaking at Thompson Creek Manufacturing, a Landover, Md.-based window company.

He also used the event to formally announce that he's naming Gene Sperling to head the National Economic Council.

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.