In Address, Obama Says Debt Limit Uncertainty Keeping Businesses From Hiring

WASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) -- President Barack Obama says the uncertainty over whether lawmakers will raise the nation's debt limit is keeping businesses from hiring.

Speaking in the Rose Garden, Obama says that once Congress reaches an agreement on the debt ceiling, businesses will have the confidence they need to add workers to their payrolls. CBS News has more:

Amid criticism from both the left and right, Mr. Obama opened his Rose Garden remarks by acknowledging that the economy - not the debt limit - is the top concern of most Americans. He said the jobs report "confirms what most Americans already know: We still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give people the security and opportunity that they deserve."

He then pointed to the "tough headwinds" faced in recent months - including natural disasters, local budget cuts, economic trouble abroad and "uncertainty over whether the debt limit here in the United States will be raised," which he said has "made businesses hesitant to invest more aggressively."

The report out Friday morning showed employers added the fewest jobs in nine months and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent. Congressional Republicans and GOP presidential hopefuls used the dismal report to slam Obama's economic agenda.

The reports come as Democrats and Republicans near an urgent deadline to increase the nation's borrowing power and prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its obligations.