Bernanke Testimony Contradicts Optimism on Jobs

“Unfortunately, these numbers cannot hide the fact that President Obama’s policies have prevented a true economic recovery. We can do better,” GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney said in a statement from the Nevada caucuses.

Bernanke himself seemed to undermine the jobs tally, telling Senators the unemployment rate of 8.3% understates the weakness of the labor market. He said it’s important to also look at other gauges of the labor market, including underemployment, according to Bloomberg. While the jobless rate has dropped for five consecutive months, it remains above the 5.2% to 6% that Fed officials say is consistent with maximum employment. The percentage of the unemployed who have remained without work for 27 weeks or more rose to 42.9% in January from 42.5% in December.

“Over the past two and a half years, the U.S. economy has been gradually recovering from the recent deep recession,” Bernanke said. “While conditions have certainly improved over this period, the pace of the recovery has been frustratingly slow, particularly from the perspective of the millions of workers who remain unemployed or underemployed.”