President Obama says growth in economy should continue

President Barack Obama delivered remarks on the state of the United States economy Friday. He reminded Americans of the grim picture our country faced just seven years ago.

Here in Indian and Michigan, his message hit home with residents.

In April of 2009, the United States lost 700,000 jobs and unemployment was at nine percent, climbing toward ten.

This April, unemployment is at five percent and last month, 160,000 new jobs were added to the workforce in that month alone.

“That makes April the seventy-fourth consecutive month of private sector job growth in America, remarks President Obama.

The president says employment is growing, unemployment falling and wages are rising by an average of three percent this year alone.

The president impressed upon everyone that he wanted growth to continue and offered advice to the incoming administration.

“To create new jobs they should invest in infrastructure, in our roads, our bridges, our schools, our water mains,” continued President Obama.

A look at local numbers shows Indiana is at a new high in 2016 with 2.6 million private sector jobs available compared to 2.3 million in 2009.

In Michigan, where the unemployment rate was 13.8 percent in April 2009, today preliminary numbers for March show that rate is at 4.8.

The president also made clear his feelings about rising wages, stating that it would, “not only help those individuals who are getting a bigger paycheck,” but it also means they’re spending more and that is a boost to business and in turn the economy.