Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor, Seth D. Harris, announced on March 8, 2013, that the economy added 236,000 new non-farm payroll jobs in February.  Harris also reported that the unemployment rate had dipped to 7.7%–the lowest level since December 2008.

Harris claimed that in the last 3 years, the private sector added a total of 6.4 million jobs.

Harris in a press release also stated: 

“The economy is poised for even more significant growth, but Congress should not hold it back. We can’t cut our way to prosperity. Deficit reduction alone is not an economic strategy or a jobs plan. It’s time for members of both parties in Congress to work together on a balanced deficit reduction plan and invest in the middle class — the engine of America’s economic growth.”