Jobs Are Growing, Not Stagnating - NYTimes.com

"Last month, when the unemployment rate dropped by three-tenths of a percentage point to dip below 8 percent for the first time in 43 months, Mitt Romney dismissed the drop as meaningless. Some Republicans said federal officials manipulated the numbers to help President Obama win re-election. This month, when the jobless rate went up by a smaller amount, Mr. Romney took it as gospel, proof that Mr. Obama’s policies are a failure. Last month, Mr. Romney focus ed on a reduction in the work force. This month, he would not admit that the work force had expanded.

The truth is that Mr. Obama was right when he talked about “real progress” in the economy during a campaign swing in Ohio, where the state unemployment rate has declined from 8.6 percent a year ago to 7 percent recently. Republican obstructionism has made it much harder to achieve the improvement we have seen, but it has failed in its seeming intent to ensure stagnation."