Career Advice & News Center

The 2012 presidential race heated up over the weekend, with Michele Bachman winning the Iowa straw poll. Perhaps the biggest story of the weekend, however, was that Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the race, announcing his candidacy at an event in South Carolina. Perry has touted his record of creating jobs as his biggest accomplishment as governor, and according to reports, the labor economy will likely serve as the most important campaign issue going forward.

While the debt ceiling debate received an inordinate amount of media attention during July and early August, recent surveys indicate Americans are increasingly concerned about the dire jobs market and the economy as a whole. 

With that in mind, President Obama's reelection hopes could hinge on job growth from now until election day next November. According to a report from The New York Times, the labor economy often plays a deciding factor in the outcome of presidential elections. Since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in fact, no president has been reelected with an unemployment rate higher than 7.2 percent. 

With the national unemployment rate at 9.1 percent, and economists projecting continued anemic job growth, political analysts assert that President Obama has his work cut out for him as he endeavors to stimulate the beleaguered economy.

While Obama and his advisers work to craft policies to fuel the economy - with the limited resources they have at their disposal - Governor Rick Perry is touting his job creation record as the governor of the Lone Star State.

Texas has been responsible for more than 33 percent of all jobs created in the U.S. since the recession began, but economists and analysts are divided as to whether the labor economy's strength is a result of Perry's policies, or rather, results from its population growth. 

Nonetheless, voters will likely warm to Perry's message of strong job creation, experts say. Mitt Romney and John Huntsman, two of the other Republican presidential candidates, are similarly stressing their own records as governors of Massachusetts and Utah, respectively. 

With the field of Republican presidential candidates growing increasingly crowded, the front runners are hoping voters will warm to their job creation plans.