GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. (AP) — The discouraging new unemployment numbers present President Barack Obama with a sobering reminder that an uneven recovery from the recession can be a fragile argument for his re-election. It's all deepening his anxiety over the political and economic threat posed by the European debt crisis.

Anemic job growth and an uptick in joblessness to 8.2 percent also give new resonance to Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney's campaign and put Obama on the defensive after a winter when the job trends were in his favor. Job growth now has been disappointing for three straight months, accentuating challenges ahead for the president.

Obama, speaking about the economy Friday in Minnesota, kept up an optimistic front. While he said the latest jobs report indicated that the economy was not growing fast enough, he predicted, "We will come back stronger; we do have better days ahead."