WASHINGTON, D.C.--U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, issued the following statement regarding President Barack Obama's comment earlier today that the "private sector is doing fine" despite a record 40 consecutive weeks of unemployment above 8 percent:

"President Obama's statement earlier today that the `private sector is doing fine' is not only embarrassingly out of touch, but it is a real insult to the over 23 million Americans who are unemployed or underemployed and struggling to make ends meet," said Thune. "If an 8.2 percent unemployment rate and 40 consecutive months of an above 8 percent unemployment rate is `doing fine,' then I don't want to know his definition of an economy that is doing poorly."

###