CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- President Barack Obama says a new government report on jobs provides a rare opportunity for him to deliver good news about the economy and is telling workers in North Carolina that much work remains.
Obama told workers in the Charlotte area that his aggressive policies helped create new jobs. He spoke at a factory that received grants from the economic stimulus package that will eventually allow it to add about 300 jobs making battery parts.
Even so, Obama noted that some 8 million workers have lost jobs since the recession began. And the president called that "a staggering sum."
A Labor Department report said businesses added 162,000 jobs to payrolls in March, but the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.7 percent.
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