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.