Obama pitches job creation before new nation unemployment numbers

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Days before the Commerce Department will release the latest national unemployment numbers, President Obama today met with his economic recovery advisory board to stress that his administration’s main goal was to create new jobs.

In a televised appearance, Obama told the group his administration has pulled the economy away from a major depression, but he noted that there was still much work to be done creating innovative jobs for those who lost their livelihoods during the recession.

“This is my administration’s overriding focus,” Obama said. “Having brought the economy back from the brink, the question is how are we going to make sure that people are getting back to work and able to support their families. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we will not rest until we are succeeding in generating the jobs that this economy needs.”

The national unemployment rate is at 9.8% and is expected to surpass 10%. The next jobs report is due Friday.

“We anticipate that we’re going to continue to see some job losses in the weeks and months to come,’ Obama warned.

“But I want to emphasize I am confident that having moved the economy on the right track, that if we apply some good common sense and some -- and reinvigorate that sector of our economy that’s based on innovation and dynamism and entrepreneurship, that there’s no reason why we’re not going to be able to not only create jobs but the kind of sustainable economic growth that everybody is looking for,” he said.

-- Michael Muskal

Follow on Twitter @LATimesmuskal