White House Adviser: Economy is Recovering, But Long Path Ahead

The U.S. economy is continuing to recover but still has a long way to go, top White House advisers said on Friday, after the Labor Department released weaker-than-expected jobs figures.

"What we are seeing in the economy right now is that we are making progress, but we still have a long way to go," White House economic adviser Gene Sperling said.

But he faulted Republicans in Congress for getting in the way of employment creation. "The partisanship ... has blocked us from having a stronger job market," he said.

U.S. payrolls rose in March by 120,000, far less than expected and the smallest increase since October, though the unemployment rate fell to a three-year low of 8.2 percent.

Alan Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said in a blog post that the construction sector is continuing to suffer from housing-market weakness, but said "manufacturing continues to be a bright spot."