Romney Campaign Press Release - Swing State Voters Aren't Better Off

"Across the country, middle-class families aren't better off in the Obama economy. They're struggling with fewer good-paying jobs, chronic unemployment, and gas prices that have doubled. But President Obama has lost touch with reality, and thinks Americans are better off after four years of his leadership. We deserve better. Mitt Romney has a plan to fix the economy for the middle class by creating 12 million new jobs and a more prosperous future for the next generation." – Ryan Williams, Romney Campaign Spokesman

In Ohio – Where President Obama Campaigned Today – Middle-Class Jobs "Are Disappearing":

"Jobs That Traditionally Supported A Middle-Class Lifestyle - Often With Only A High School Diploma -Are Disappearing." "The middle may have fallen out of the Cleveland area labor market. On this Labor Day, upper- and lower-level jobs are proliferating, but jobs that traditionally supported a middle-class lifestyle - often with only a high school diploma -are disappearing." (Olivera Perkins, "Jobs With Mid-Range Pay Are Disappearing From Cleveland Area Labor Market," Plain Dealer, 9/3/12)

More Than Half Of The Fast-Growing Jobs In Cleveland "Are Lower-Paying" With Wages Just Above The State's Minimum Wage. "Six of the 10 fastest-growing occupations are lower-paying, most with median hourly pay less than $2 above Ohio's minimum wage of $7.70, according to a Plain Dealer analysis of U.S. Labor Department data from 2006-11." (Olivera Perkins, "Jobs With Mid-Range Pay Are Disappearing From Cleveland Area Labor Market," Plain Dealer, 9/3/12)

Plain Dealer Headline: "Jobs With Mid-Range Pay Are Disappearing From Cleveland Area Labor Market" (Plain Dealer, 9/3/12)

In North Carolina – Where President Obama Will Deliver His Convention Speech – The Middle Class Is Showing Signs Of "Wear And Tear":

"North Carolina's Middle Class Is Starting To Show The Wear And Tear" Of The Obama Economy. "They've cut back on the dinners out, the family trips, the movie nights. They've lost health insurance and struggled with kids in college. Many are burning through savings and retirement funds – the final assurances of a middle-class income. But after more than three years with an unemployment rate higher than the national rate, North Carolina's middle class is starting to show the wear and tear." (Craig Jarvis, "North Carolina's Middle Class Shows The Strain Of Years Of Job Losses," Raleigh News & Observer, 9/2/12)

North Carolina Has "Lost High-Wage Jobs And Gained Low-Wage Jobs." "Median household income in the state fell over the decade by nearly 10 percent, to $43,326, according to the Budget and Tax Center, a nonprofit advocacy group in Raleigh. The center, in a report coming out this weekend, also found that North Carolina lost high-wage jobs and gained low-wage jobs. The report found that unemployment has lasted six months or more for nearly half of those who are out of work." (Craig Jarvis, "North Carolina's Middle Class Shows The Strain Of Years Of Job Losses," Raleigh News & Observer, 9/2/12)

Raleigh News & Observer Headline: "North Carolina's Middle Class Shows The Strain Of Years Of Job Losses" (Raleigh News & Observer, 9/2/12)

And President Obama's So-Called Recovery Hasn't Delivered Good-Paying Jobs For Floridians:

"Florida's Employment Recovery Hasn't Brought Back Many Well-Paying Jobs." "Florida's employment recovery hasn't brought back many well-paying jobs. That's the conclusion of a new study timed for Labor Day showing the gaps of the Sunshine State's slow but unmistakable bounce back in hiring. And it reflects a national trend, driven largely by the ripple effects of the collapsed housing market." (Douglas Hanks, "In Florida's Employment Recovery, Minimum-Wage Jobs Lead The Way," Miami Herald, 9/3/12)

Minimum-Wage Jobs Have Constituted The Bulk Of Florida's Job Growth During President Obama's So-Called Recovery. "The three industries that account for 63 percent of all minimum-wage jobs in Florida — hospitality, retail and healthcare — also have been leading the recovery, according to the study by Florida International University's Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy." (Douglas Hanks, "In Florida's Employment Recovery, Minimum-Wage Jobs Lead The Way," Miami Herald, 9/3/12)