Revised Labor Dept. data reveals job gains under Obama

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Revised data from the U.S. Labor Department shows that, contrary to Republican accusations, President Barack Obama’s administration has been good for the job market.

The Huffington Post reported that the new data, released Thursday, shows payrolls were at 133.686 million non-farm payrolls in the year ending March 2012.

Prior to the revision, payrolls were at 133.300 in the year ending in March, meaning the revision, which will not be confirmed until February, revealed an increase of 386,000 jobs since its preliminary estimate, and an increase of 125,000 jobs since Obama took office in January 2009.

The data, culled from tax records, also pointed out that unemployment remains at 8.1 percent, compared to 7.8 percent at the beginning of the Obama administration.

“The jobs recovery over the last 2.5 years has been a bit stronger than initially reported,” said Alan Krueger, chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers in a statement. “Although much work remains to be done to return to full employment.”

Kevin Madden, a campaign advisor for Republican challenger Mitt Romney downplayed the revision’s findings to The Wall Street Journal.

“There are 23 million Americans struggling to find work right now,” Madden said. “And the president has nothing more to offer than tax hikes and more regulations.”