David Brancaccio: President Obama just held a news conference at the White House, focused on the economy — both here, and in Europe. He called on European leaders to lay out a “vision and a framework for a stronger eurozone.” And on the domestic front, the president asked Congress to reevaluate the jobs bill he delivered to the Capitol last year.
From Washington, Marketplace’s David Gura reports.
David Gura: President Obama said the solutions to Europe’s economic problems are hard, but, he said, there *are solutions.
President Obama: The decisions required are tough, but Europe has the capacity to make them. And they have America’s support.
Then, the president addressed the economic situation here, in the U.S. He said the economy has been *adding jobs for twenty-seven months in a row now, but most of those 4.3 million jobs have been in the *private sector.
President Obama: The big challenge we have in our economy right now is state and local government hiring has been going in the wrong direction.
President Obama urged Congress to follow his blueprint, to focus on helping the public sector and the housing market, both of which continue to lag. Lawmakers “should be doing everything they can to keep the recovery going,” he said. “And to keep the economy strong.”
In Washington, I’m David Gura, for Marketplace.