since the beginning of the year in female unemployment. host: how they compare men and women? guest: i don't know for sure but it is one of the numbers that wall street pays attention to. i have a colleague that covers issues for women in the workforce but it is in the numbers and you can get a good sense of it. host: what is wall street care about the average work week? guest: that is important in terms of getting a sense about if the factories are really working. . .

guest: i hear a lot of times from people that they think these numbers are under-counted or sort of sweetened up to make the picture not look so good. i think the picture is not looking good. it is not a sense of the government tried to low-ball

these numbers. the labor market is in a tough spot. it is a tough recession for workers. host: gregg robb spent several years covering the sec. what is marketwatch.com? >> it is a free website that covers wall street and financial news. it is a good place to follow stocks. it is a good place to follow the u.s. economy and the global economy. host: it is to be a part of cbs? >> we will lead this recorded segment and take you live to charlotte, north carolina. he will be speaking at a lithium battery manufacturing company. it is about jobs and the economy. live coverage on c-span. [applause]

>> thank you, guys. hello, everybody. hello. good to see you. everybody, please, have a seat. thank you so much for the warm welcome. to bob, thank you for the terrific introduction. i want to thank brian morehead for the great war -- for the great whotour. we have the governor that is to win a best -- a great job on the behalf of all the people of north carolina. please give her a round of applause. [applause] >> i think it is important to note that the state of north carolina has provided enormous support for expansion here at

celgard as well. it is the combination of both federal and state that makes a big difference. the lieutenant governor is here. please stand up. [applause] >> the hot shot young up-and- coming mayor of charlotte is in the house, anthony fox. [applause] >> some outstanding members of congress. [applause] >> even though his from across the border, we love him. congressman john spratt from south carolina. it is good to be here at celgard.

it is good to be back in north carolina. it is good to be back. we just concluded our tort or we saw some of the workings of this facility where you are many-and components for state of the art batteries. you are building separators to make sure the diametrically opposed forces could work successfully together. i could not help but think that we could use your help in congress. [laughter] [applause] >> we could get one of those tried-part films and put it between the democrats and republicans. it would improve conductivity. but i did that right? ok. the truth is is have been a very

tough two years for north carolina and have been a tough two years for the united states of america. we have been through the worst period of economic turmoil since the great depression. keep in mind, when i first took the oath of office, we were already moving towards what some thought was a great depression. we're losing about 700,000, 800,000 jobs per month. the economy was contracting at a pace that we have not seen in generations, about a 6% contraction in the first quarter when i took office. i have often had to report bad news during the course of this year, as the recession wreaked havoc on people's lives. today, is an encouraging day. we learned that the economy actually produced a substantial

number of jobs instead of losing a substantial number of jobs. [applause] >> we are beginning to toward the corner. [applause] >> this month more americans look up, got dressed and had to work in an office, factory or storefront. more folks are feeling a sense of pride and satisfaction that comes with a hard-earned and well-deserved paycheck at the end of a long week of work. just one week we one year ago, we were losing an average of seven and a thousand jobs a month. the measures we took, even though there were sometimes unpopular, have broken this slide and helping us to climb out of this recession. we have now added an average of over 50,000 jobs each month over the first quarter of this year.

this month's increase was the best news we've seen on the job front in more than two years. [applause] >> at the same time, it is important to have to emphasize that we still have a way to go. we should not underestimate the difficulties we face as a country where the hardships that confront millions of our fellow citizens, some of your friends, some of your neighbors, some of your relatives that you know are going to a tough time. 8 million people have lost jobs over the past two years. that is staggering. economic statistics do not do justice to the pain and exile -- anxiety that results from unemployment. it takes a toll on families, marriages, it takes a toll on children. it stabs the vitality of communities.

being unable to on -- to find work, to provide for your family, that affects your economic security and your heart and your soul. it beats you up. it is hard. we have to be mindful that today's numbers, while welcome, they leave us with a lot of work to do. it will take time to achieve a strong and sustained job growth that we need. long before the recession hit, for decades, middle-class families have been experiencing a decline of economic security. paychecks were flat line, even though the cost of everything from college education to health care were all going up. this means that even as we pull out of this immediate crisis, we have to tackle some of the long- term problems that have been a drag on our economy. that is why we have been working

so hard to turn this economy around. it is not quick. it is not easy. the truth is, there are some limits to what the government can do. the government cannot reverse the toll of this recession overnight. the government, on its own, cannot replace the 8 million jobs that have been lost. the true engine of job growth in this country has always been the private sector, businesses like celgard. of what government can do is create the conditions for companies to succeed. it can help create conditions for countries -- for companies to hire again. it can build infrastructure that creates incentives that allows small businesses to hire workers, allow on to producers to take a chance on ideas, allow many factors to set up shop in places like charlotte.

that is what we did through the recovery, also known as the stimulus bill. a lot of folks were down on it. a lot of folks got it mixed up with the steps we had to take to avoid the banking system melting down. i know that was not popular. it was not popular with me. here is what the recovery act did. we cut taxes for small businesses and 95% of working families to promote spending and hiring. cut taxes, that is with the recovery act did. we are cutting people put taxes across america. [applause] >> we are also making investments in our infrastructure. that creates private-sector jobs and the platform, a better environment for which businesses can prosper. it is also what we did to the jobs bill that i signed into law just recently -- a bill that

cuts taxes for small businesses that hire unemployed workers and allows companies to write off investments in equipment. it encourages building on the investments that we put in place to the recovery act. we have promoted innovation in the private sector, not just to create jobs, but also to help america lead in the growth industries of the 21st century. i want to improve the short-term job picture, but i also want to improve the long-term prospects for our economy. in no area is our country more primed to lead them than in clean energy. i did not have to tell the people here at celgard about that. for the recovery act, this company has received a matching

grant to expand the facility on the site, and to add another facility in north carolina. i know this bill has done the work that the governor did to bring clean energy jobs to the state. here is the bottom line. this investment will create nearly 300 jobs for this company, more than 1000 jobs for your contractors and suppliers -- these are all jobs helping americans build batteries that will power cleaner, more efficient cars and trucks. through investments, like this one, we are already seeing an incredible transformation across the country. here is an interesting statistic. before the recovery act, before i took office, we had the capacity to make less than 2% of the world's lithium ion batteries. less than 2%. in the next five years, on the current trajectory, we are going to be able to make 40% of these

advanced batteries right here, in the united states of america. [applause] >> the next time somebody asks you when you are at the grocery store, what does this recovery act do? you can tell them. one of the things it helped do was to expand and catalyze an entire new industry where the united states of america can gain enormous market share across the globe. that is the kind of strategy we need, helping the private sector thrive in entirely new industries, the industries of the future. it is a strategy that will not only create jobs in the near- term, but also sustained growth and opportunity in the long run. this has been a heroin time for our country. it is easy to grow cynical and

wonder if our best days are behind us, especially after a terrible crisis. we have seen folks in washington trying to play the usual politics with the crisis. that is not surprising, of course. that is how washington works. although, i think it is important for the american people to remember that the failed economic policies that got us into this mess, just so we do not returned to them. what we can see here at this plant is that the worst of the storm is over. brighter days are still ahead. in charlotte, and all across the country, we can see the promise and possibility that awaits us if we'd tap our ingenuity, our inventiveness, and our drive as a people. if we are smart and we are willing to do what it takes, we can lead new industries that create new jobs that strengthen the middle-class.

we can turn this turmoil into recovery and emerge stronger than before. i am convinced that is what we are called to do and i am confident that that is what we will do. i want to say to all of the employees here at celgard that we are proud of you be -- because you are helping to lead the way. [applause] >> thank you, everybody. thank you. thank you. you know, when they let me out of my cage in the white house, i like to actually have a chance to talk to folks. we have time for a few questions and we have some young people here in the audience with their microphones. this is not formal, even though i am sure that with some of the cameras a few of you might feel intimidated. all you have to do is raise your

hand. we will call on you. it can be a question about anything. if you could introduce yourself, it is helpful. we'll start with that young lady. >> my name is jennifer. i am from charlotte. my question is regarding an act. many people have commented on the fact that it has come at a great cost to many public organizations, we need to now assessed our internal controls over financial reporting, it has also come, many say, without a value in the recent financial crisis. what value do you think it may have going forward on the upswing as the economy goes forward? >> that is a great question. for those of you that are not aware of it, the act was

instituted not in response to this financial crisis, but in response to the enron-worldcom nonsense that took place over a decade ago. the concern was that the accounting practices of companies had gotten so out of whack, that you had a company that was essentially booking profits, driving their stock up high, ceos were making these bonuses, but it turned out that when you actually got in there and started looking, they were building a house of cards. it was manufacturing profits out of thin air. the concern was, how do we make sure that ceo's and their boards of directors are more accountable to the reporting that they are doing, so that

investors, shareholders, the market customers, suppliers and employees, a lot of home had gotten tricked into putting all of their savings into that company, then it turned up everything they were saving went up in a cloud of smoke, all those people would be protected. the intent around that act was a good idea. it was the right thing to do. there have been some legitimate criticisms about the fact that although it is a relatively modest cost for a big company, it can be a significant cost for a mid-sized or a small company because if they have to abide by all of the rules and regulations and all the double- checking, they have to hire a bunch of a conscience. -- a bunch of accountants.

it is one thing if you are a fortune 100 company that has several billion stop -- several billion dollars in revenue to spend a couple million dollars on accountants. it is another thing if you are a company that is making $100 million a year and you are spending a couple hundred and accountants. that to be the difference on your profit margins. what we are interested in doing is to work with companies to get the device. are there ways to streamline and make this more effective? are there ways to lessen the burden on small companies but still retained the basic principle that accounting standards have to be met, cleared and understandable. you cannot cook the books. and ceos and boards of directors have to be accountable for the accounting statements that they

put out there. they have to sign a bottom line. they will be directly liable if for some reason it turns out there were some shenanigans going on. this raises a broader question about regulation. we went through a time where -- i think the general theory was the less regulation, the better. if you talk to most companies, they would rather not have any regulations, whatsoever. there is nothing wrong with that. that is the nature of it. companies figure that are pretty smart. they know what they are doing. i am sure that if i talked to bob, there are a whole bunch of things that he wishes they did not have to do. it is like any other law. you put the laws in place even though you know most folks are following the rules and operating decently to make sure

the people that are not operating that way cannot read have it on the system. we will have a big debate when it comes to financial regulatory reform. you are seeing the same pattern come up right now. you essentially had a whole bunch of financial institutions -- investment banks like lehman brothers, who were taking $1, and they were able to leverage -- use that dollar to make a $60 bet on subprimal loans in housing and take huge risks that almost brought the entire system to heal. all of your friends and neighbors and communities are paying the price because nobody was minding the store and making sure that these banks and financial institutions were following the basic rules of the road.

what we now say is, look. we have to have a financial system that works. we also have to have some basic rules that we make sure we never find ourselves in a situation where we have two choices -- either you bailout the banks, where you think why my propping up the folks that caused the problem in the first place, or, you did not, and the banks start failing and the whole system breaks down, creating what could have been a great depression. we cannot allow ourselves to be put in that situation. we have to have some basic rules and regulations at the front end and say to banks will not want to let you get too big to fail. we are not want to put ourselves in a position where you are able to gamble with other people go money in such a way that it could potentially

bring down the whole system. getting the balance right on how to do that is something that you have got to be very careful about. i think now, we are starting to see a framework emerge both in the house of representatives and the senate where my hope is that we can actually get this done sometime in the next several weeks. thank you for the great question. this gentleman, right here. >> thank you, sir. my name is michael. it is an honor to have you with us. i am concerned that your decision to allow offshore drilling could have the effect of killing an investment into alternate sources of energy. i am interested in what kind of incentives you will put in place to increase research and development in that sector. >> great question. first of all, understand that

the recovery act represented the single largest investment in clean energy in history, by far. we invested in wind, solar, research and development, commercialization, battery technology -- we are interested in figuring out how we could improve efficiency both in buildings and in transportation sectors. you name it. we are all about increasing energy efficiency and finding new, renewable, clean sources of energy. it is one of my highest priorities. it has the potential of being an enormous growth industry. here is the challenge that we have. we do not yet have the technological breakthroughs that can completely replace

fossil fuels. for the next 10 years, the next 20 years, we will still be using oil. we will still be using cold. we will still be using natural gas. we will still be using the traditional sources to fuel our cars, heat our homes, run our power plants, etc. it is my hope that if we are aggressive, we could substantially cut our energy used in every sector, while still maintaining our high levels of economic growth. for example, at the announcement were at talked-about offshore drilling, i did sell in front of a fighter jet -- i did so in front of a fighter jet that will be run half on bio-mass. i was joking with the pilot. this thing runs on vegetable

oil. they will break the sound barrier using bio-mass fuel. the pentagon is invested huge amounts in energy efficiency. we are promoting one authorization across the country because -- was authorization across the country because this is a win-win situation. most of that is manufactured in the united states. it saves on individual's energy bell and it means that that power plant has to produce less energy to keep that home warm. it is a win-win across the board. that is our biggest priority. energy efficiency and renewable, clean energy, but because we are quite to have this transition, unless someone here and then something tomorrow, which will be very helpful -- if you have

that, let me know we will get it going right away -- what is most likely is that we will have this transition. in the interim, we have to look at our traditional energy sources and figure out how we can use them most effectively and in the most environmentally sound way. that is why i announced that we were going to start the first nuclear plant in 30 years. japan, france, other countries have a safe, secure, reliable and effective civilian nuclear energy. we essentially stopped 30 years ago. for those of you that are concerned about climate change, nuclear energy does not produce greenhouse gases. it is not a perfect energy source because it has a problem with spent fuel and how that is properly stored, but generally

speaking, that will have to be part of our energy use. the decision around drilling is the same approach. what we did is we said we are not want to have drilling 1 mile off of the north carolina coast, or two miles off, but 50 miles off, 100 miles off, where it is appropriate and environmentally sound and not risky, we should allow exploration to begin taking place to see if there are certain reserves. there are some areas that we put off limits like bristol bay in alaska where it is environmentally very sensitive. there are some areas of the coast in the gulf of mexico which do not make sense for us to allow exploration even though we know there are existing reserves there. what we did is try to look at the scientific evidence and figure out the areas