Princeton , Indiana ( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama brought his midterm economic message -- that the economy is better but not better enough -- to a steel plant here Friday , noting a strong jobs report and taking partial credit for the nation 's economic recovery . `` This progress that we 've been making -- it 's been hard , '' he said at the Millennium Steel plant in Princeton , which provides a nearby Toyota factory with parts . `` It goes in fits and starts . It 's not always been perfectly smooth or as fast as we want , but it is real , and it is steady , and it is happening . And it 's making a difference in economies all across the country . '' The White House believes the nation 's economic recovery could help propel Democrats to wins in November , though polls show Americans are still pessimistic about how far the nation has come since its recession-era depths . While jobs have returned -- as evidenced by a report Friday showing the unemployment rate dropping to its lowest point since July 2008 -- many Americans are still struggling to find full-time work or positions that pay pre-recession wages . `` There is a lot of good stuff happening in the economy right now , '' Obama said Friday . `` But as we all know there there are still challenges . '' That 's the message Obama and fellow Democrats plan to sell to voters in the month left before midterm elections , though Obama himself has yet to campaign for a candidate running in November . Even when he visits states with competitive races , Democrats on the ballot have been reluctant to appear at official events with Obama . Friday 's event , in far southwestern Indiana , was covered heavily by media outlets from nearby Kentucky , where Sen. Mitch McConnell , the Republican leader , is battling Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes . That race that 's become a referendum of Obama 's own policies , which McConnell has crusaded against on Capitol Hill . The line likely to make the local newscasts : Obama 's defense of new power plant rules that McConnell and other Republicans have lambasted as a `` war of coal . '' `` The real war on coal is natural gas , '' Obama said , noting cheaper alternatives to coal had led to problems for the industry . `` Obviously causes some hardship in communities that traditionally relied on coal , '' he conceded , saying he was working to find ways to burn coal in ways that emit less pollution .
Obama touts manufacturing gains at a steel plant in Indiana . The White House says the U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs last month and unemployment dropped to 8.1%.