Biden emphasizes ‘urgency’ of Covid relief after sluggish jobs report

WASHINGTON, DC -- President Biden delivered remarks on the economy Friday after the first jobs report during his presidency was released earlier in the morning, pointing toward a slow economic recovery.

The Labor Department report showed the U.S. unemployment rate dipped slightly to 6.3% in January -- down just 0.4% from last month -- and employers added some 49,000 jobs.

Last February, before Covid-19 upended the labor market, the unemployment rate in the U.S. was 3.5%.

Biden responded to the new, sluggish jobs report by continuing to press for his $1.9 trillion Covid relief package to be passed with "urgency."

"We saw the jobs report. Only 6,000 private sector jobs will be created. And at that rate, it's going to take 10 years before we get to full employment. That's not hyperbole," Biden said Friday.

In an Oval Office meeting prior to his remarks to the nation, Biden told with Congressional Democrats, "the urgency with which you're moving -- this is about people's lives. This is not just about numbers," Biden said.

He indicated that many Americans are "really hurting" and Congress has the opportunity "to do something consequential here."

Citing lessons learned from his time working on the Recovery Act during the Obama administration, Biden reiterated, "We can't do too much here, but we can do too little."

Biden added, "Real, live people are hurting and we can fix it."