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The White House says today's GDP numbers show the economy is moving in the right direction, but that "additional growth is needed" to replace the jobs lost in the recession.

Today's report, the White House notes, shows the economy posted its 12th straight quarter of positive growth. "Over the last three years, the economy has expanded by 6.7 percent overall, and the private components of GDP have grown by 9.9 percent," Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Alan Krueger writes in a White House blog.

The U.S. economy grew at the rate of 1.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, the Commerce Department announced today. The figure is down from previous quarters, but slightly higher than economists' expectations of about 1.3 percent.

"To strengthen economic growth and increase job creation, President Obama has proposed to Congress a plan that would help state and local governments retain and hire teachers and first responders, assist the construction sector and economy of tomorrow by rebuilding and modernizing our nation's infrastructure, and would give small businesses tax cuts to encourage them to increase payroll," Krueger writes. "President Obama also proposed extending tax cuts to protect middle class families and virtually every small business owner from getting a tax increase at the beginning of next year."

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