Obama: Gas Prices, Japan Shockwaves Hit Economy

President Barack Obama on Friday cited the earthquake disaster in Japan and high gasoline prices as headwinds that were bumps in the road to economic recovery.

Obama's comments, made at an auto plant in Ohio, came after a Labor Department report showed employers hired the fewest number of workers in eight months in May and the unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent.

(Reporting by Alister Bull, writing by Jeff Mason)