The top U.S. presidential candidates say the latest unemployment numbers make it much more important for Congress to act quickly and responsibly to address the country's financial crisis.

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, participates in women's town hall style campaign event in Denver, 02 Oct 2008

Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama released statements Friday, calling on the House of Representatives to pass a financial bailout package for troubled financial institutions.

Both candidates are U.S. senators, and voted in favor of a revised rescue plan earlier this week.

McCain says Friday's jobs report from the Labor Department shows the nation's economy is on the wrong track.  He says if elected president he will "clean up the mess" created by the greed of financial firms, and fix the root causes of the crisis.

Obama says if elected he will rebuild the middle class and create millions of new jobs by investing in the country's infrastructure and in renewable energy.
 

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.