Um.... what?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
The state of the economy in Georgia has been a hot topic in the 2014 elections there, with Democrats pointing out that under the GOP governor, the state has the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation. But GOP Senate candidate David Perdue isn't that concerned about the news, urging voters to just ignore it.
During a recent "meet and greet" event with Republican voters in Dawsonville, Georgia, Perdue told attendees to pay no attention to the state's 7.8 percent unemployment rate, which is higher than the national rate of 6.2 percent.
"We’re working. I agree with whoever said...don’t worry about that unemployment number," said Perdue. "Worry about the number of jobs created. The raw number. That’s what’s important."
Perdue was agreeing with a comment by Georgia Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler, who had spoken prior to him at the event. Butler said the truly important metric of how the economy was doing was the number of private sector jobs created.
"The reason why we've had it [higher unemployment] is there's been 45,000 less government jobs in the last three months," said Butler. "The private sector has put up 42,000 jobs in the last three months. Which one do you think is more important? The private sector or government? The private sector." - Huffington Post, 8/26/14
Here's more from Butler:
http://www.peachpundit.com/...
Last week, the Labor Department announced the unemployment rate in Georgia rose to 8.0% in July, up six tenths of a point from June.
Butler made a similar claim when he spoke to attendees at a rally in Rome earlier in the day. When he was asked later about where the government job losses came from, he said that they were largely due seasonal cutbacks in education, including things like school bus drivers and cafeteria workers. Now that school has started and classes have begun on college campuses, most all of those workers will be returning to their jobs.
In a hotly contested governor’s race, the incumbent will naturally talk about the number of new jobs created during his watch. The challenger will focus on the unemployment rate, which is the second highest in the country. If Labor Secretary Butler is correct, the unemployment rate will decline as we get closer to the November election. - Peach Pundit, 8/26/14
It remains to be seen about Butler's prediction but telling people to ignore the rising unemployment number isn't an effective message. It's these types of remarks that make Perdue look out of touch with the voters. Lets make sure he's defeated come November. Click here to donate and get involved with Michelle Nunn's (D. GA) campaign:
http://www.michellenunn.com/