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Operation Reach B.L.A.C.K. is a Pan-African Blog with an acronym that stands for Building Leadership Awareness and Cultural Knowledge.

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Saturday, December 5, 2009

President Obama's Weekly Address (12/05/09)

President Obama Kicks Off White House To Main Street Tour In Pennsylvania


On the heels of surprisingly positive economic news, the President stressed his dedication towards accelerating job growth and rebuilding the middle class in his weekly video address.


The monthly unemployment numbers took a modest (if not encouraging) dip from 10.2% to 10.0%. More impressive was the substantial decrease in the number of jobs lost. After averaging 135,000 lost jobs over the prior three months, The Bureau Of Labor Statistics announced a loss of just 11,000 jobs for the month of November.

via The Bureau of Labor Statistics:

The unemployment rate edged down to 10.0 percent in November, and nonfarm
payroll employment was essentially unchanged (-11,000), the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. In the prior 3 months, payroll job losses
had averaged 135,000 a month. In November, employment fell in construction,
manufacturing, and information, while temporary help services and health care
added jobs.


Still, politics demands more than a positive news cycle and the President was sure to restate his commitment towards bringing this economy back to its feet--politics and popularity aside. "From the moment I was sworn into office," the President said, "we have taken a number of difficult steps to end this economic crisis. We didn't take them because they were popular or gratifying. They weren't. We took these steps because they were necessary."



Friday, the President embarked on a campaign-style "Main Street" tour to talk job growth and assisting the middle class. Only time will tell whether the economic trends continue in a positive direction. Either way, the President was clear on his approach. Speaking to a crowd in Allentown, PA, the President made note of "the best jobs report that we've seen since 2007" but reminded everyone that "I consider one job lost [to be] one too many. . . good trends don't pay the rent. We've got to actually grow jobs and get America back to work as quickly as we can."

Watch the President's visit to Allentown, PA:

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