GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo.—The latest jobs report shows the U.S. unemployment rate dipped to 7.8 percent in September, after 43 straight months of chronically high unemployment above 8 percent.

Colorado Republican Party Chairman Ryan Call issued the following statement in response to the report:

“A 7.8 percent unemployment rate is no cause for celebration. We created fewer jobs in September than in August, and fewer jobs in August than in July.  Despite his promises to bring unemployment to 5.6 percent by the end of his first term, the unemployment rate is no better than when Barack Obama took office.  To the extent we are seeing any encouraging signs of economic recovery, it has been in spite of the President’s policies and not because of them.

“There are still 23 million Americans struggling to find work, and more than 200,000 Coloradans can’t find a job. Too many of our fellow Americans are only working part-time because they can’t find full-time work, and many more have simply give up looking for a job.  The September underemployment rate announced this morning was still a very disappointing 14.7 percent, and the workforce participation rate hasn’t been this low since Jimmy Carter was in the White House.

“Colorado’s struggling families and businesses can’t afford another four years of President Obama’s failed policies and disappointing leadership.  Mitt Romney understands what it takes to grow our economy and create jobs, and is the kind of leader who will work across the aisle to solve the problems we face as a nation.  On November 6, Colorado voters will have a clear choice between four more years of the same, or a new path that will lead to a real economic recovery.”