Barack Obama: US economy has long way to go

President Obama has said the US has a long way to go to rebuild its economy, following the release of figures showing an increase in the unemployment rate in America.

There had been hopes the US economy was beginning to rally after a slump earlier in the year, but June saw the lowest number of new jobs created for nine months, data has shown.

Mr Obama said that while national debt limits had dominated talk in Washington recently, he was in agreement with most Americans that "getting our economy on a sounder footing" was more important.