US economy moving in the right direction: Obama

Washington, Jan 7: Encouraged by the addition of more than 2 lakh new jobs last month and a drop in the unemployment rate, the US President Barack Obama on Friday said the country's economy is moving in the right direction.

"... We learned that American businesses added another 2,12,000 jobs last month. Altogether, more private sector jobs were created in 2011 than any year since 2005," Obama said in his remarks at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau after release of latest figures in this regard.

There are lots of people who are still hurting out there, he said, adding that after losing more than 8 million jobs in the recession the US obviously has a lot more work to do.

"But it is important for the American people to recognise that we have now added 3.2 million new private sector jobs over the last 22 months, nearly 2 million jobs last year alone," he said.

After shedding jobs for more than a decade, the manufacturing sector is also adding jobs two years in a row now and that is making progress, he said.

"We are moving in the right direction... the economy is moving in the right direction. We are creating jobs on a consistent basis," the President added.

PTI