US economic recovery speeds up: Obama

Nigeria Sun (IANS) Friday 3rd February, 2012

US economic recovery was speeding up with the labor market improving, but the nation needed to take more steps to bolster the faltering recovery, President Barack Obama said Friday.

Obama welcomed the latest job market report as good news about the economy, but he cautioned that there were still too many unemployed Americans, Xinhua reported.

He urged the Congress to make joint efforts to sustain the momentum of the economic recovery, including passing the extension of payroll tax cuts for the full year.

The US unemployment rate edged down to 8.3 percent last month from 8.5 percent in Dececember 2011, evidence of an improving job market, the US Labor Department said.

"In January, American businesses added another 257,000 jobs. The unemployment rate came down because more people found work. And altogether, we've added 3.7 million new jobs over the last 23 months," he said.

Speaking at a fire station in Arlington, Virginia, Obama warned the Congress not to "muck up" the economic recovery.

"The recovery is speeding up. And we've got to do everything in our power to keep it going," Obama stressed.

"Now is not the time for self-inflicted wounds to our economy. Now is the time for action," he added.