The White House on Friday continued to blame the economy President Obama inherited from President Bush for the weak growth in jobs, issuing a statement citing the "deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007."

The statement posted on the White House site by economic advisor Alan B. Krueger noted the success of Obama since winning the White House in reversing the jobs loss trend at the end of the Bush years. "In the four years since the recession ended in June 2009, the economy has added 5.3 million jobs, thanks to the resilience of the American people and policies like the Recovery Act, which helped bring the recession to an end and put us on the path to recovery," said his blog post.

For his part, Obama said nothing to the pool as he left for a golf game at Andrews Air Force Base.

"POTUS emerged from the north portico at 9 sharp in a white polo shirt, shorts and sandals. There were still some decorations around from last night's party on the south lawn. He was holding a briefing book, so he's got something to read on the way to his destination," said the first pool report.

After reaching Andrews, the media pool added: "POTUS rolled into Joint Base Andrews with motorcade at about 9:22. Pool peeled off to the food court. He's golfing with Marty Nesbitt and Eric Whitaker, per WH."

The full White House blog post on the jobs report:

The Employment Situation in June

Posted by Alan B. Krueger on July 5, 2013 at 09:30 AM EDT

While more work remains to be done, today's employment report provides further confirmation that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we remain focused on pursuing policies to speed job creation and expand the middle class, as we continue to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007.

Today's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that private sector businesses added 202,000 jobs last month (see first chart below). Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 195,000 jobs in June. The economy has now added private sector jobs for 40 consecutive months, and a total of 7.2 million jobs has been added over that period. In spite of monthly volatility, over the past three years the pace of job growth has increased each year (see second chart below). So far this year, 1.23 million private sector jobs have been added.

The household survey showed that the unemployment rate remained at 7.6 percent in June down from 8.2 percent a year ago. The labor force participation rate rose by 0.1 percentage point for the second month in a row to 63.5 percent in June.

In the four years since the recession ended in June 2009, the economy has added 5.3 million jobs, thanks to the resilience of the American people and policies like the Recovery Act, which helped bring the recession to an end and put us on the path to recovery. With the recovery gaining traction, now is not the time for Washington to impose self-inflicted wounds on the economy. The President will continue to press Congress to act on the proposals he called for in his State of the Union address to make America a magnet for good jobs, help workers obtain the skills they need for those jobs, and make sure that honest work leads to a decent living.

According to the establishment survey, in June employment increased the most in professional and business services (+53,000), bars and restaurants (+51,700), retail trade (+37,100), arts, entertainment, and recreation (+17,400), financial activities (+17,000), and education and health services (+13,000). Construction added 13,000 jobs and has grown in 12 of the last 13 months, adding 197,000 jobs over that period. Government jobs fell by 7,000, with the Federal government (excluding postal) losing 5,000 jobs. Local governments added 13,000 jobs, and have now expanded for four months in a row. State governments lost 15,000 (mostly education) jobs. Manufacturing employment declined by 6,000 jobs, but motor vehicles and parts added 5,100 jobs.

As the Administration stresses every month, the monthly employment and unemployment figures can be volatile, and payroll employment estimates can be subject to substantial revision. Therefore, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report and it is informative to consider each report in the context of other data that are becoming available.

Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.