Obama claims victory after drop in USA jobless rate

Obama, in his eighth and final year in office, made a relatively rare and unexpected appearance in the White House briefing room to talk about how the economy had recovered under his watch.

Employers added 151,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent last month – the first time the jobless rate dipped below 5 percent since February 2008.

Buoyed by wage-gains and record low unemployment, President Barack Obama underscored on Friday that his administration’s efforts have helped usher in an economic recovery, NBC News reported.

But referring to Republican candidates’ “gloom and doom tour in New Hampshire”, Mr. Obama added, “I guess you can’t please everybody”.

“Evidence, facts are on our side”, Obama said.

He noted unemployment, deficits, and gas prices are all down, while jobs, wages, and the rate of the insured have all increased. He said he ” would not be surprised if they did pass that along” to consumers.

Speaking briefly to reporters today, Obama said the US economy is the “strongest in the world” and that “Americans were working and getting bigger paychecks”.

“We should not let up from the progress that’s been made”, he said.

The chairmen of the House and Senate budget committees are so dismayed with the proposed oil fee and other spending proposals from the White House that they have rejected the traditional meeting with the president’s budget chief next week after the budget is formally presented to Congress on Tuesday.