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Obama acknowledges signs of economic growth

While most Republicans in Washington talked scandal, President Obama took a trip outside the beltway Thursday to talk about jobs.
President Barack Obama gestures while speaking at Mooresville Middle School in Mooresville, N.C., Thursday, June 6, 2013. Obama traveled to Mooresville, N.C. to promote his "Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour."  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Barack Obama gestures while speaking at Mooresville Middle School in Mooresville, N.C., Thursday, June 6, 2013. Obama traveled to Mooresville, N.C....

While most Republicans in Washington talked scandal, President Obama took a trip outside the beltway Thursday to talk about jobs.

The latest stop on the president's jobs tour took him to Mooresville, North Carolina, where he touted another plank in his plans to build the economy through educational improvements by bringing high-speed internet access to every school in the nation.

His latest jobs push comes as the country is seeing some key signs of economic growth.

  • Layoffs are down 41% from this time last year.
  • The unemployment rate has dropped from 10% to 7.5%, and at least one model predicts it will drop down to 6.8% by December.

Some local headlines reveal positive movement too. In San Francisco, development projects are on the rise. In Fort Myers, Fl., tourism revenue is up. And in Green Bay, Wisc., at least one company is announcing hundreds of new jobs.

The president touted that growth in his speech in North Carolina, but also acknowledged more work still needs to be done.

"Thanks to the grit and the determination of the American people, things are starting to come back," he said. "We're getting traction, the gears to the economy are turning, we're starting to make progress, but we've got to build on that progress."

The next step towards that progress involves convincing House Republicans to join onto his plans. With their current obsession with scandals, that could be a tall order. But perhaps they can be won over with the recent poll that shows most Americans--73% to 22%--want Washington focused on job creation over investigations.