Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Dow Rallies at Open; Riding out Wild Swings in Market; President Obama Talks Jobs & Veteran; Why U.S. Stocks Tanked; Jobs Report Better Than Expected; Deaths Pile Up in Syria; GOP Presidential Hopefuls Take Swipes at President on Economic Policies

Aired August 05, 2011 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Suzanne Malveaux.

Let's get you up to speed for this Friday, August 5th.

Better than expected, that's the bottom line on today's highly- anticipated monthly jobs report. The Labor Department says the economy added 117,000 jobs in July. Economists were expecting about 75,000. The unemployment rate ticked down slightly from 9.2 percent to 9.1 percent.

And stocks rallied at the opening bell after the better-than- expected jobs report, but it has been up and down this morning. The Dow is coming off yesterday's steep plunge right now. Take a look. The Dow, down just about 24 points.

Of course we'll be watching the markets throughout the day.

All right. We'll get President Obama's take on the July jobs report in a speech that begins any minute now.

Besides reacting to the unemployment numbers, the president is unveiling a new initiative to help military veterans find work. He is trying to shift the focus back to jobs after the drawn-out drama over the debt ceiling.

Live pictures right now of the Washington Navy Yard. When the president arrives, we'll take that live with his remarks as well.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is fighting to protect his budget from deeper cuts. He says the $400 billion being slashed from the Pentagon's budget under the new debt reduction bill is "manageable," but Panetta warns that if further cuts are triggered automatically by the deal, it could cause real damage to national security.

He was asked if he would resign over it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I didn't come into this job to quit, I came into this job to fight. And my intention it to fight to make sure that hopefully some common sense prevails here. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And at this hour, a jury in Texas is hearing testimony in the penalty phase of the Warren Jeffs sexual assault trial. Thursday, the jury found the polygamist sect leader guilty of sexually assaulting two girls ages 12 and 15. The jury reached a verdict in less than four hours. Jeffs could face life in prison.

And protesters in Syria are chanting, "God is with us!" That's the theme of demonstrations across the country today.

New violence is raging. Government snipers and tanks have been unable to keep protesters from demanding the ouster of President Assad. Hillary Clinton says Syria's government is responsible for more than 2,000 deaths since the unrest started mid-March.

And back in this country, oppressive heat from New Mexico to North Carolina. More than a dozen states are sweltering through another brutally hot day.

Texas is right in the middle of it all. July was the hottest month ever recorded in the state. With air-conditioners on full blast, electricity use has surged, and some utilities are actually asking customers to conserve right now on power.

So we want to take a closer look right now on the better-than- expected jobs report for July and the stock market's reaction. The Dow rallied at the open after yesterday's 512 point free-fall.

Alison Kosik joins us now from New York, from the Stock Exchange there.

Alison, let's start with the jobs report. Break it down for us.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OK. All right, Fredricka.

And we saw the reaction on Wall Street. We saw the Dow jump as much as 172 points on that better-than-expected jobs report that showed that 117,000 jobs were added last month.

The unemployment rate ticked down to 9.1 percent, as well. And where were those jobs added? We saw jobs added in manufacturing, in health care, in hospitality. But we also saw jobs lost in government, 37,000.

What you're looking at there is sort of the progression of the first half of the year of how many jobs were added. We saw more jobs added in February, March and April. Then you saw it kind of trickle a little lower, although those were revised higher in this report that we got yesterday. And of course this 117,000 was definitely better than Wall Street expected -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And a serious seesaw of the numbers on the markets this morning shortly after they opened. What's happening right now? KOSIK: We're seeing more volatility. The Dow is down about 58 points. We're watching stocks move from gains and losses very quickly.

Look, even though we got a strong government jobs report, the realities of the weakness in the economy are still there. There are still worries about the European debt issues. That is also what Wall Street is focused on right now -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alison Kosik, thanks so much from the Stock Exchange. Appreciate that.

Here is a rundown, meantime, of some of the stories we're covering.

First, whether you're planning to retire soon, or 20 years down the line, what to do or not to do with your 401(k) in this volatile stock market.

And then, the brutal summer heat forces people to take desperate measures.

Also, shocking violence captured on camera in Syria, the latest on the government's bloody crackdown against demonstrators.

And they spent two months trapped under ground. We'll tell you what the Chilean miners are doing after that emotional mine collapse rescue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Want to show you live pictures of the Washington Navy Yard. Right there, in that room, President Obama will soon be taking to the podium there.

He's going to be talking about jobs for military vets, and likely he's going to be responding to today's jobs report. It was encouraging, not as bad as some think it was going to be, but certainly not as encouraging as perhaps the White House would have wanted. But we'll be tuning in on that live from the Navy Yard in Washington momentarily.

Meantime, let's go back to the New York Stock Exchange with Alison Kosik, where we continue to watch the markets.

Some encouraging numbers as a result of the jobs numbers as well. You've been talking to a lot of traders who have -- in large part, a lot of analysts have been talking about fear being something that has kind of driven the Dow drop, particularly earlier this week, including yesterday.

KOSIK: Exactly. And so I wanted to bring in a little bit more perspective with Kenny Polcari. He's a trader here on the floor.

You know, what about this fear in the marketplace? What about this volatility that we're see today? KENNY POLCARI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ICAP CORPORATES: Well, you're going to see the volatility today, because over the last couple of days, and certainly yesterday, we broke through some very key technical levels, and we broke through them very decisively. And so the market is kind of in this funny place at the moment. We're not at support or at resistance. We're kind of in the middle. So it needs to find its way.

So then you get a report like this morning, which was much better than the street expected. You saw this big explosion right on the opening, but now, in fact, you see the market has sold off. We're down 10 points on the S&P at the moment. We've had this 27-point swing in the S&P because the market is trying is to find a new level, it's trying to build its base, it's trying to find out where it can start to build support again.

KOSIK: And what about summer months? Summer months are usually slower. You know, so much for those Hamptons vacations.

POLCARI: Well, up until now, but I have to tell you, August could actually end up being quite a busy month because we have all this news out there, and people are clearly concerned. And what we saw, especially yesterday, we saw much bigger anticipation.

Volume exploded. I think we traded almost 7.5 billion shares yesterday. So, volume exploded, and what that indicates is that you have got some real participation from some of the larger asset managers that have been kind of just sitting on the sidelines waiting to see, waiting to assess what the outlook really looks like.

KOSIK: OK. But, unfortunately, today they're selling again.

POLCARI: Well, you know what? They were buying this morning, they're selling today. And all that's really telling you is that they're moving assets around, they're moving money around.

And again, because we broke some technical levels, and the market is kind of in this funny spot, it needs to asset manage. And also, we're doing this kind of reevaluation, and they're re-pricing risks, and they're re-pricing different sectors. And so this is what we're going to see, and we're going to see a lot of this, actually.

KOSIK: OK.

So, Fredricka, overall, to sort of bottom-line it, what you're seeing is a readjustment in stock prices to match what you're seeing in the overall economy -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Alison. Thanks so much. We'll check back with you momentarily.

Meantime, we are continuing to watch the Washington Navy Yard. So we may have to interrupt our next segment about that and go to the president momentarily. Just wanted to let you know.

So, meantime, it is pretty hard not to panic when you watch the stock market plunge more than 500 points in a single day. That's what we saw yesterday. Well, naturally, most of us are worried about our 401(k)s and other investments, but money experts and economists say don't panic.

Here's what author and economist Ben Stein had to say on CNN's "IN THE ARENA."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN STEIN, ECONOMIST: It's a large point drop. It's not a particularly enormous percentage drop. We've had a fantastic stock market recovery from the lows. We may very well be heading for a double-dip recession, but so far things are not that terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So what should you do to ride out the wild swings in this market? Joining us again, money expert and author and CNN contributor Clyde Anderson.

Good to see you.

CLYDE ANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: OK. So people are a little nervous right now. What kind of advice would you give them about their 401(k)s, and what to do and what to move, or what to leave alone?

CLYDE ANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, the first thing, and you said it, is not to react. Don't just react to the things that you hear in the market and the news.

People look at a headline and they react from the headline. So don't react.

Really Look and know what you have in your 401(k). What's in your portfolio? Diversification is the key, so you want make sure that you're spread out a little bit so you don't have everything in one section.

WHITFIELD: So you really need to have, so to speak, your financial house in order.

ANDERSON: In order. Exactly.

And so the next part of that is having a plan. And most of us don't have a plan. We allow someone else to do it, so we don't know what's in the plan.

We don't know what we're investing in a lot of times in that 401(k). We just know it's a 401(k).

WHITFIELD: And you're always hoping that the numbers are going up.

ANDERSON: That's it. So that's all you're really looking for. But what you really need to know is, you know, have that plan. What am I trying to do? What are my goals based on my age, based on when I want to retire, and those sort of things?

WHITFIELD: The past two years have been really hard on everyone's 401(k)s. Everyone suffered incredible losses two years ago, and then they're getting hit again over the past few weeks and months. So, if you are in your 60s and you're planning on that 401(k), and you were hoping it was going to be healthy, what do you advise people in their 60s right now? What kind of adjustments do they need to make, if any?

ANDERSON: Well, what you have to realize is, how much money do you need to live off of the next 30 years, maybe? And once you know that number, it helps you to determine, where am I right now? Do I have enough right now? Do I even want to take will risk going further. Do I want to have these sleepless nights and worry about it?

You may be in a position where you can go to a safer investment. Maybe a CD or something that -- it may not earn you a lot of additional income, but at the same time, you want to know that you have enough to live on. So it's not going to be the thing that's going to have a high-yielding interest or anything, but it's a safe investment.

WHITFIELD: A little bit more stability.

ANDERSON: A lot more stability.

WHITFIELD: You're in your 40s or your 30s. What do you do, if anything?

ANDERSON: You've got time. You've got time to go in and mess up and regain that money once again. So I would say be realistic.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: Maybe not adjustments. But again, know what you have.

So, still don't go into this blindly, not knowing what's in that 401(k) or what's in my investments. Look at some index funds, maybe, some mutuals. But also look at some tech stocks and some other things that could give me high-yield gains.

And so you want to make sure you're diversifying, but you're also making sure that I know my risk tolerance and I'm playing the game. Because it is a game at the end of the day.

WHITFIELD: It is. All right. Clyde Anderson, thanks so much.

Of course, many people are awaiting President Obama to make some comments about the markets right now, about jobs. We know the jobs report came out. Some thought it was rather encouraging, that at least in the private sector, that we've experienced a 154,000 job increase in the past month.

Right now Mike Mullen is now speaking. President Obama to take the microphone there very soon at the Washington Navy Yard. And of course when that happens, we'll take that live.

All right. In Texas now, a heat wave death that probably could have been prevented. An older woman in Dallas died after someone stole her air-conditioner. Her friends and neighbors are fighting mad about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, as promised, let's go to Washington Navy Yard, where President Barack Obama is there, about to reveal more on a jobs incentive program for military vets.

Let's listen in.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much, everybody. Good morning. I'm glad somebody told me that was the last one, because I had lost count.

(LAUGHTER)

It is great to be here at the Navy Yard. And, first of all, I want to thank Admiral Mullen for being here, and for his four decades of extraordinary service to this country. And I want to thank him for saying that for an old guy, I look OK. I appreciate that.

This may be one of the oldest shipyards in the United States. But today, it's used to develop some of the most advanced technology in the military, although I hear your engineers are still working on a solution to the traffic when the Nationals are playing. That's not ready yet.

Let me start by saying a few words about our economy.

There is no doubt this has been a tumultuous year. We've weathered the Arab Spring's effect on oil and gas prices, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami's effect on supply chains, the extraordinary economic uncertainty in Europe, and recently markets around the globe have taken a bumpy ride.

My concern right now, my singular focus, is the American people getting the unemployed back on the job, lifting their wages, rebuilding that sense of security the middle class has felt slipping away for years, and helping them recover fully as families and as communities from the worst recession that any of us have ever seen.

Today, we know that our economy created 154,000 new private sector jobs in July. And that's the strongest pace since April. The unemployment rate went down, not up.

But while this marks the 17th month in a row of job growth in the private sector, nearly 2.5 million new private sector jobs in all, we have to create more jobs than that each month to make up for the more than eight million jobs that the recession claimed. We need to create a self-sustaining cycle where people are spending and companies are hiring and our economy is growing. And we've known that will take some time.

But what I want the American people and our partners around the world to know is this: we are going to get through this. Things will get better. And we're going to get there together.

The bipartisan compromise on deficit reduction was important in terms of putting us on sounder fiscal footing going forward, but let's be honest. The process was divisive, it was delayed. And if we want our businesses to have the confidence they need to get the cash off the sidelines and invest and hire, then we've got to do better than it that.

We've got to be able to work together to grow the economy right now and strengthen our long term finances. That's what the American people expect of us, leaders that can put aside our differences to meet our challenges.

So when Congress gets back in September, I want to move quickly on things that will help the economy create jobs right now -- extending the payroll tax credit to put $1,000 in the pockets of the average worker, extending unemployment insurance to help people get back on their feet, putting construction workers back to work rebuilding America. Those are all steps that we can take right how that will make a difference, and there is no contradiction between us taking some steps to put people to work right now and getting our long-term fiscal house in order. In fact, the more we grow, the easier it will be to reduce our deficits.

Now, both parties share power. Both parties share responsibility for our progress. Moving our economy and our country forward is not a Democratic or Republican responsibility, it's not a public or private responsibility, it is the responsibility of all Americans.

It's in our nature to do the tough things when necessary, to do the right things when called. And that's the spirit that Washington needs right now.

It's also the kind of spirit found in the men and women who proudly serve in our country's uniform. And it's a spirit that endures long after they take those uniforms off.

Today's veterans are Americans who have done their duty. They have fought our wars with valor from the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan. And they include the members of today's military, the 9/11 generation, some of whom are here today, who volunteered to serve at a time of war knowing they would be sent into harm's way.

To these men and women, I want to say that all of you have served our country with honor. Over the last decade, you've performed heroically and done everything we have asked of you in some of the most dangerous places on the planet. Your generation has earned a special place in American history.

Today, nearly three million extraordinary service members like you have completed their service and made the transition back to civilian life. They've taken their leadership experience, their mastery of cutting-edge technologies, their ability to adapt to changing circumstances, and they've become leaders here at home.

Just think about how many veterans have led their comrades on life-and-death missions by the time they were 25 years old. That's the kind of responsibility and experience that any business in America should want to take advantage of.

These veterans are already making an impact making companies and communities stronger, but for every success story, there are also stories of veterans who come home and struggle to find a job worthy of their experience and worthy of hair talent. Veterans like Nick Colgen (ph).

When Nick (ph) was in Afghanistan, he served as a combat medic with the 82nd Airborne. Over the course of his deployment, Nick (ph) saved the life of a French soldier who was shot in the head and helped 42 people escape from a flooding river.

He earned a Bronze Star for his actions. But when Nick (ph) got back home to Wyoming, he couldn't get a job as a first responder. So he ended up having to take classes through the post-9/11 GI bill, classes he easily could have taught, just so he could qualify for the same duties at home that he was doing every single day in Afghanistan.

They're veterans like Maria Canales. She was a financial specialist in the Army, helping to provide financial support for her unit in Iraq. And when she got home, she finished earning her degree in business management.

But even with her education and her experience in the Army, Maria still couldn't find a steady working job in accounting or finance. That isn't right and it doesn't make any sense, not for our veterans, not for the strength of our country.

If you can save a life in Afghanistan, you can save a life in an ambulance in Wyoming. If you can oversee millions of dollars in assets in Iraq, you can help a business balance its books here at home.

Our incredible servicemen and women need to know that America values them not simply for what they can do in uniform, but for what they can do when they come home. We need them to keep making America stronger.

Our companies need skilled workers like our veterans to grow. And there's no reason why we can't connect the two.

Now, keeping our commitments to our veterans has been one of my top priorities as commander-in-chief, and that includes helping them make the transition back to civilian life. That's why we're fully funding the post-9/11 GI bill, which is helping more than 500,000 veterans and their family members pursue a college education. That's why we supported extending the bill to include non-college degrees and on-the-job and apprenticeship training. And that's why I directed the federal government to be a model employer and hire more veterans, including more than 100,000 in the past year and a half alone.

So, today, we're taking it a step further.

First, we need to do more to make the transition from military to civilian life easier for our veterans. That's why I'm directing the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to design what we're calling a reverse boot camp.

The problem is that right now we spend months preparing our men and women for life in the military, but we spend much less time preparing them for life after they get out. So we'll devote more time on the back end to help our veterans learn about everything from benefits to how they can translate their military training into an industry-accepted credential. In addition, we'll make it easier for veterans to go their local one-stop career center and get help pursuing a career that fits them best.

These steps will help bridge part of the gap between veterans looking for work and companies looking to hire.

But that's only part of the equation. The other half is about encouraging companies to do their part. And that's why I'm proposing a new returning heroes tax credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans. And I'm proposing an increase in the existing tax credit for companies who hire unemployed veterans with a disability who still have so much to offer our country.

And finally, we're challenging the private sector to hire or train 100,000 unemployed post-9/11 veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013. This builds on commitments that many companies have already made as part of the Joining Forces campaign championed by my wife Michelle and Dr. Jill Biden.

Siemens, for example, recently met their goal of hiring 300 veterans. So they're aiming to hire 150 more by December. Microsoft is helping more than 10,000 veterans get I.T. certified over the next two years. And today, groups from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to Accenture to Lockheed Martin have all agreed to do their part to help veterans get back in the workforce.

The bottom line is this: We still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give folks the economic security and opportunity they deserve. And that begins with connecting Americans looking for work, including our veterans, with employers looking to hire.

Over the last few years, another generation of young veterans has learned that the challenges don't end in Kandahar or Baghdad. They continue right here at home.

Today we're saying to our veterans, you fought for us and now we're fighting for you, for the jobs and opportunities that you need to keep your families strong and to keep America competitive in the 21st century. And at a time when there's so much work to be done in this country, we need everyone's help to do it.

So thank you, God bless you, God bless all our services, and God bless the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama there at the Washington Navy Yard pledging this, saying, quote, "You fought for us and now we're fighting for you," as it pertains to unveiling some programs to help military veterans transition into civilian life. He said, for one, there will be a reverse boot camp and there will also be a tax credit to companies that employ vets and vets with disabilities.

And just before that, he also of course responded to the job market saying he's offering some reassurance to the world community that the U.S. will be getting back on track. He says that they -- we, as a nation, do need to create more jobs. The 154,000 private sector job growth experienced in the last month is encouraging, the best since April, but he says this message to the world, he wants the partners around the world to know that it will get better.

President Barack Obama there at the Washington Navy Yard.

Meantime in the 1:00 hour Eastern time of the NEWSROOM, Randi Kaye will talk live with two veterans, one of them is meeting with President Obama today. We'll get their take on the president's plan to better prepare vets for the workforce.

And the July jobs report beyond the number, we'll talk with an economist about what the report means for the overall economy.

And we're watching the markets minute by minute after idea's big selloff. Right now, the Dow down by 70 points. Now it's rebounded a little bit, down 59 points. We'll keep watching that for you.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So what lead the markets to tank so badly yesterday beyond our own economic troubles? There's a crisis of confidence around the world.

CNN International business correspondent and co-anchor of "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY," Andrew Stevens joining us now from Hong Kong to explain.

So, Andrew, we know the U.S. is not living in a vacuum. How is the European debt crisis affecting the U.S. market, and why now?

ANDREA STEVENS, HOST, CNN INTERNATIONAL'S "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY": Well, as you say, we're not living in a vacuum, and everything now is so interrelated. So when you're investing in somewhere Europe and you see this massive -- we talk about the crisis of confidence. The fact that the European policymakers cannot get to grips with this debt crisis, which now may be threatening the world or Europe's third biggest economy, that sends shatters through the investment community worldwide. Remember, that Europe is still a huge consumer. Taking Asia, for example, the markets here in Asia tanking today, down by 4 percent on average. And that was because consumers in the European countries are worried about what's going on, they feel that they're not being -- they don't have a chance really to see economic growth, so that is affecting the Asian investors, it's affecting Asian manufacturers as it is the U.S., as well. So this whole thing revolves right around the world.

If you look across the market, all the major markets are down. Over the past two weeks, it's been the biggest selloff on the global share market since November of 2008, which gives you an idea of just how it's all connected again.

WHITFIELD: And when you talked about the Asian markets, specifically India, those stocks fell something like 2 percent. What's the explanation behind that, and why does that make some nervous?

STEVENS: Well, India is an interesting case, because if you remember back to 2008 when we're on the brink of the abyss, the global economy, the banking system virtually frozen up, India wasn't badly affected because it is a very closed economy.

What you're seeing in India now, over the past three or four years, it's opening up much more, it's becoming part of global community. So India now, like the rest of the Asian economies, is feeling the effects of the weakness in the U.S.

The U.S. economy is still the biggest buyer, it's still the biggest economy in the world. This Asia is still the manufacturing center of the world. So if nobody is buying in the U.S., that affects Asia which you includes India.

WHITFIELD: We know that the U.S. dollar has lost a lot of its steam in the past couple of years, but now we're talking about the euro might be in trouble. What is going to determine the strengths or weakness of the U.S. dollar versus the euro?

STEVENS: Well, I think that with the euro, obviously, with everybody is getting out of the dollar at the moment, and they're looking for other safe haven or other currencies on to get into. And it's a relative question really, is the Eurozone a safer place to be than the U.S. at the moment.

And there has been not an active overt policy in the U.S. to get the dollar down, but it certainly it's been moving down to try to get the U.S. to export its way out of trouble. So there's a lot of money, they're looking at other currencies. The Eurozone, the euro bonds are still very highly rated, most of them, so that's why people are going into the euro as well.

Likewise with yen. If you see in Japan the yen is strong because the dollar is weak. The yen is seen as a safe haven. You ought to think of it, the Japanese economy is in real safe at the moment. It's weakening once again, the Japan economy is in a bad place for like 20 years now, but Japan is seen as a country that will repay its debts, will repay its bonds, so you put your money where you think it's going to be safest to weather this sort of storm.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right, Andrew Stevens out of Hong Kong, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Also index stocks bounce after this morning's jobs report, but then now they're down again. The Just take a quick look, the Dow down some 93 points. It keeps fluctuating back and forth.

We'll take a closer look at the employment picture overall after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, so a better than expected jobs report has eased some fears that contributed to yesterday's stock market plunge. The economy added 117,000 jobs last month, more than 75,000 economists (sic) had expected. So that led to a rally at the opening bell today.

Right now, the Dow is down 92 points. But, you know, anything can happen. It could go right back up just as we saw a few hours ago.

Joining us to talk about the unemployment numbers and the economy is Thomas "Danny" Boston, professor of economics at Georgia Tech.

OK, so what is your assessment of this jobs report number? Much more encouraging than a lot of people expected, and we saw a spike in manufacturing, retail manufacturing jobs, and health care.

PROF. THOMAS "DANNY" BOSTON, ECONOMICS, GEORGIA TECH: Right, absolutely. Much, much greater than what we had expected. Everybody had been looking for doom and gloom. And the importance of which is that it kind of put a brake on this downward spiral of expectations, so it's just what we needed.

Now, again, it doesn't get us to the amount of jobs that we need to lower the higher rate of unemployment, but, again, it indicates that there is strength in the economy, and that that's something that we can build on.

WHITFIELD: It does seem like a real contradiction. While some people are celebrating a spike in the jobs, however, the unemployment rate did dip to 9.1 percent.

BOSTON: Right, yes. And it dipped to 9.1 percent mainly because the size of the labor force contracted. That is, people -- there were a significant number of people who dropped out of the labor market and became discouraged. They are not counted among the unemployed, and so that's why we get a decrease in the unemployment rate.

But nonetheless, it was significant that we did gain a lot more jobs than we had anticipated and had things for example shutdown in Minnesota and others that subtracted government jobs.

WHITFIELD: Right, government jobs have taken a real big hit while private sector jobs have enjoyed a spike. Government jobs not the case. Minnesota being a big reason why.

BOSTON: Right. That's a big part of the loss of government jobs. And if you add that onto the private sector job, overall we would have been close to somewhere around 175,000, close to 200,000, which a good number.

WHITFIELD: So when you talk about government jobs, you are talking mostly state and municipalities, or does that involve federal government workers?

BOSTON: State, local and federal jobs, yes, all wrapped up in there.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

OK, so what are the signs you'll be looking for to see that a double-dip recession is completely unavoidable? Real quick, 20 seconds.

BOSTON: Here's what's happening -- 20 seconds? Right.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Sorry.

BOSTON: Confidence, confidence, confidence. That things have to build confidence, right? We have to look for whether or not the corporate sector is going to get off some of this cash and start spending. We have to see whether something will happen in the housing sector. We need more stability at the government level so that these arguments don't spook markets. And we need to see that the situation in the Eurozone is settling down. So generally we need confidence.

The conditions for growth are there. There's enough capital to grow. It's not a shortage of money. There's enough spending power to grow. People are saving more. We just need to get them to spend and invest.

WHITFIELD: All right. Professor, thanks so much. Appreciate that, Danny Boston of Georgia Tech.

BOSTON: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

All right, new violence, meantime, across Syria. The government's brutal crackdown is not stopping protesters. We'll have a live report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Protesters are back on the streets across Syria today, despite the government's ongoing crackdown. Video from the frontlines appears to confirm the reports of snipers and tanks aimed at crushing the uprising. Human rights experts accuse the Syrian government of a systematic use of force. CNN's Arwa Damon is following the developments from neighboring Lebanon.

So, Arwa, we're hearing reports of killings, injuries, torture, disappearances and just simply arbitrary arrests. Do these protestors really stand a chance against the government?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, they've really come further than any other sort of challenge that has been posed to the Syrian regime, to such a degree that analysts will tell you that the government is quite simply at a loss at how to handle the uprising, which is why its behavior, as they say, is schizophrenic. We have political promises, reforms on the one hand, and then we have this military crackdown continuing in many parts of the country, now focusing in Hama.

And in Hama is most certainly appears as if the current government is trying to quell the voices of dissent the very same way the current president's father did back in the early '80s, sending tanks barreling down streets, firing into residential areas, positioning snipers on rooftops that are shooting at anything, anyone who dares venture out, and effectively, indiscriminant gunfire throughout the entire city. That's according to residents who have stayed inside Hama, Fredricka, despite all of this using satellite phones to try, they say, to get news of what is happening out to the rest of the world.

We spoke with one resident, there was the sound of gunfire while we were talking to him. We talked to him again a few hours later, he said that he had been forced to flee from that initial location he was in, and he was terrified that the Syrian security forces were going to capture him. If they did, he says, and if they found his satellite phone, his Thuraya phone, he says they would consider that a crime. He could possibly even be executed for that.

So we continue to see these acts of defiance, not just in Hama, but throughout the entire country.

WHITFIELD: Arwa Damon, thanks so much.

The U.S. job numbers could have been a lot worse, but Republican candidates are still taking swings at the president's economic policies. We'll tell you what they are saying about it in the Political Ticker.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The roller coaster ride on Wall Street is rocking the White House.

Brianna Keilar, part of "The Best Political Team on Television," is there live.

We just heard from the president on job creation. What is the White House's take on this? BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHIT HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The president was just nearby here, Fred, at the Washington Navy Yard talking about unemployed vets, because job numbers were out today off the top of his remarks he addressed that. And, of course, 117,000 jobs added in July, unemployment dropping slightly from 9.2 to 9.1 percent, but not surprisingly what the president really emphasized was the number of private sector jobs that were added.

Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Today, we know that our economy created 154,000 new private sector jobs in July, and that's the strongest pace since April. The unemployment rate went down, not up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So better than expected. The White House happy about that, of course, certainly the hope that everybody would have, especially the White House is that it would have been better than it was, Fredricka. But the president emphasizing a bipartisan solution when the Congress returns in September, and reemphasizing his sort of proposals, unemployment benefits and extension of the payroll tax cut infrastructure spending and the like.

Meantime, not surprisingly, Republican presidential contenders really jumping on these numbers. Tim Pawlenty, former Minnesota governor, he actually said this is a far cry from the hope and change that the president promised on the campaign trail.

You heard from Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Congresswoman, she says that the president's failed economic policies are "digging us a bigger hole."

Mitt Romney said that, "you can see what this president has done to the economy in just three years...imagine what he can do in eight."

And Jon Huntsman, former Utah governor and a U.S. ambassador to China appointed by the president, said that the president focused on the wrong things like health care reform.

Laying it on thick, not really surprising, though, because while I said these are better than expected numbers, they are not good enough to keep growing the economy, Fred. And so, Republicans certainly see an opening politically.

WHITFIELD: All right, Brianna Keilar, thanks so much, from the White House.

And, of course, for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, CNNPolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)