Jobs Report: Faster Job Growth Needed, Tax and Spend Battles Loom

The White House and Republicans agreed on Friday that jobs growth is not coming quickly enough despite the latest report showing that private sector jobs growth has continued to growth for the last 14 months.

The latest results did not change rhetorical talking points. Representatives from the White House, House of Representatives and Senate this week began formal talks on how to reduce the nation's long-term deficits, with negotiations for the 2012 federal budget also in play.

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 244,000 in April, and the unemployment rateedged up to 9.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

The White House said that while the pace of growth was encouraging, faster growth is needed to replace the jobs lost in the downturn.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH said the increase in jobs was welcome news but was nowehere close to where it should be.

Austan Goolsbee, one of President Barack Obama's top economic advisers said the White House saw signs that policies supported by the White House such as payroll tax cuts and business incentives were creating conditions for companies to add new jobs and foster industries of the future.

We will continue to work with Congress to find ways to reduce spending, so that we can live within our means without neglecting the investments in education, infrastructure, and clean energy that will strengthen our economy, Goolsbee said.

Boehner, in contrast, said proposed Democratic policies, such as plans to increase taxes and allow the government's spending binge to continue were causing renewed uncertainty for private-sector job creators, crowding out private investment.