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After a week dominated by foreign policy, President Obama pivoted back to the economy on Friday, acknowledging that new economic indicators are mixed, but declaring, "the economy is moving in a positive direction."

Appearing in the Rose Garden with his economic team, Obama cited new Labor Department numbers which showed that the nation lost another 54,000 jobs in August, although private employers added 67,000 jobs.

Obama once again said that there is "no quick fix" to the nation's economic woes, as the unemployment rate ticked up to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in July.

"I want all Americans to remind themselves there are better days ahead," Obama said, citing the nation's eighth consecutive month of private-sector job growth. "That's positive news, and it reflects the steps we've already taken to break the back of this recession, but it's not nearly good enough."

Obama said that he would detail new economic proposals next week, and the White House scheduled a presidential press conference for next Friday.

Republicans seized on the bump in the unemployment numbers, amid a growing consensus that their prospects for dramatic gains in November are looking up.

"President Obama's endless defense of his failed policies has fallen flat with the American people who see a White House that is as ineffective as it is out of touch," Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said. "Every time President Obama and Congressional Democrats claim that the economy is ‘heading in the right direction,' they insult the intelligence of American families who are struggling to get by."

Christina Romer, the Chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, acknowledged that the latest economic news was not positive enough to assuage growing concerns among the American public.

"Against the backdrop of some unsettling economic data in the past few weeks, today's numbers are reassuring that growth and recovery are continuing," Romer said in a statement on Friday morning. "At the same time, the fact that the growth of private sector payrolls is below the level needed to keep up with normal growth of the labor force is obviously unacceptable."

Obama again called on Congress to take up immediately a small business jobs bill when members return from recess.

"Keep in mind it is paid for," Obama said. It will not add one dime to our deficit, so put simply this piece of legislation is good for workers, it's good for small business people, it's good for the economy."