Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said that the economy has "obviously turned the corner" at an Obama campaign event in rural Virginia today, speaking on the heels of a government report that private-sector job growth is stalling out.
The Roanoke Times reports:
[Vilsack] and Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam highlighted a number of areas where they said the Obama administration had helped rural localities, including funding expansion of broadband and supporting conservation and recreation efforts.
Standing in front of the still-in-construction Phase II of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Rordam said $2 million in federal money had helped pay for an expansion he termed "such a vital part of the Blacksburg economy."
The government’s April Job Opening and Labor Turnover report indicated that the U.S. economy is "far from healthy." Total job openings, private job openings, and total hiring numbers were all down in April, all signs that the labor market has not yet turned the corner.