Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker says he’s glad to see the national unemployment rate drop below eight percent, but says more time is needed to see if the economy is actually improving.
The US Labor Department on Friday announced the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September, its lowest level since January of 2009. The governor says it’s a move in the right direction, but he remains cautious about what the numbers mean in the long term.
Federal officials say employers added 114,000 jobs during the month of September, which is an improvement over August where the rate dropped but more people abandoned efforts to find a job. Similar situations have presented themselves in Wisconsin’s numbers as well.
Walker also says the drop is not necessarily a sign President Obama’s economic policies are working, since it’s the first time unemployment has dropped below eight percent since January of 2009. The governor says it may actually just show that employers are trying to persevere and move forward, regardless of the government.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:13)
