The Department of Labor announced today that our nation’s economy added 171,000 jobs in October. 184,000 jobs were added in the private sector alone. Indeed, the private sector has shown steady growth:

This Bureau of Labor Statistics chart shows we’re on the right path:

As Steve Benen of the Maddow Blog points out, the unemployment rate has steadily ticked down over the course of President Obama’s first term:

As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes, the challenge of this current economic recovery has been greater than recent recessions. We have been digging ourselves out of a deeper hole:

As Leader Pelosi said this morning, “Today’s jobs report is a clear sign that our economy continues to move in the right direction, but we have more work to do to strengthen the middle class. The month President Obama took office, our economy lost 800,000 jobs; now, we have seen 32 straight months of private sector growth. We must keep moving forward.”