President calls community colleges "America's most underappreciated asset"

Speaking at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Allentown, Pa. on Friday, Dec. 4, President Obama touted the underlying numbers in today's unemployment report, noting that the rate of lost jobs is slowing considerably, but adding that "we still have a long way to go."
He said community colleges must play a key role in retooling America's economy.
Obama stressed that while the nation lost 11,000 jobs in November, that was about 115,000 fewer than forecast. And the actual unemployment rate dropped, from 10.2 percent to 10 percent.

"Overall, this is the best jobs report we've seen since 2007," Obama said, though he added he wants to keep things "in perspective."

Joking that "good trends don't pay the rent," Obama said the nation still needs to figure out new ways to generate jobs.

"The direction is clear," Obama said. "When you think about how this year began ... today's report is a welcome sign that there are better days ahead."

Category:

Education

Tags:

• President Obama
• Germanna Community College
• Allentown
• Pa.
• Fredericksburg
• Culpeper
• Stafford
• Spotsylvania
• Virginia
• Workforce
• jobs
• unemployment
• economy