Today, as I am sure that you have undoubtedly seen, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the January 2012 Employment Situation Summary. Hailed as a victory by the Democrats, the U.S. Unemployment Rate fell to 8.3%, down from 8.5% in December.

While I agree that this economic news is a step in the right direction for America’s struggling economy, the fact remains that Barack Obama has failed to produce the economic recovery that was promised when he pushed his nearly $1 Billion “stimulus” package through Congress.  In fact, nearly three years later, our unemployment rate is still well above the 8% threshold that his reckless stimulus package was supposed to prevent. Another month, another failed promise from the Campaigner-in-Chief.

Looking beyond the unemployment rate, however, there are extremely alarming economic numbers that must be addressed. Today, there are currently 12.8 million unemployed Americans looking for work and another 8.2 million part-time or underemployed Americans. Put together, there are still over 21 million Americans that are unable to find adequate employment in the Obama Economy. By any standards, this is unacceptable.

On top of this, 2.8 million additional discouraged Americans have left the workforce altogether due to the current economic conditions, and are not tabulated in the national unemployment rate any longer. If they were, the picture of our nation’s employment situation may differ quite substantially.

Finally, as my friend Jim DeMint of South Carolina points out, America’s labor force participation rate has fallen to just 63.7% – the lowest total in 30 years!

“The unemployment rate is only falling because so many people have stopped looking for work.  The number may get better, but the news is getting worse,” said Senator DeMint. “For all the rhetoric you hear in Washington, the painful fact is that there are still fewer people working in the American economy than there were when the recovery supposedly began.”

The fact of the matter is that America’s economic condition has worsened drastically under the leadership of Barack Obama. Instead of clearing the way for our small businesses and entrepreneurs to put America back to work, the Obama Administration has raised taxes on business owners and saddled them with burdensome overregulation.

Only in the Obama Economy would 8.3% unemployment be cause for celebration. America could not afford the first four years of Barack Obama, and I am determined to ensure that we will not have to mortgage our future and our children’s future on four more years of the failed Obama experiment.

In November, let’s turn the White House red and put Americans back to work!