Mitt Romney called the uptick in national unemployment “a hammer blow” to middle class America and promised that his economic plan would create 12 million jobs in four years.

“Today’s increase in the unemployment rate is a hammer blow to struggling middle-class families,” Romney said in a statement. “We’ve now gone 42 consecutive months with the unemployment rate above eight percent. Middle class Americans deserve better, and I believe America can do better.”

The unemployment rate rose from 8.2 percent to 8.3 percent in July. Top-line figures show that the economy added 163,000 new jobs, but CNBC explained “that the actual amount of Americans working dropped by 195,000, with the net job gain resulting primarily from seasonal adjustments in the establishment survey.”

“My plan will turn things around and bring the economy roaring back, with twelve million new jobs created by the end of my first term,” Romney said. “President Obama doesn’t have a plan and believes that the private sector is ‘doing fine.’ Obviously, that is not the case.”