COLUMBIA - Gov. Mark Sanford, who has had a strained relationship with many state Republicans, is facing new criticism from U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett about his economic policies.

Barrett told The Greenville News for a story Friday that Sanford could do more to bring jobs to the state.

The Republican said he had "reached out time and time and time again" to work with the governor, but that Sanford responded only "to a certain degree," the newspaper reported.

Barrett was not immediately available for comment Friday, his spokeswoman said.

Sanford's spokesman says the governor has made strides in improving the economy by bringing in high-paying jobs and focusing on small businesses.

"Give me a break," Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said. "We welcome input from Washington, but we also welcome the congressman getting his facts right."

Sawyer said the state has recruited a number of businesses in the past year that will bring hundreds of jobs - about 450 from a Walgreens distribution center in Anderson, 800 from the Global Containment Systems headquarters in New Ellenton and at least 200 from the Urban Outfitters distribution center in Edgefield.

All of the new jobs are higher paying, Commerce Secretary Bob Faith said. The average wage for the new jobs is $34,773, which is 31 percent higher than the per capita income, Faith said.

Faith said the Sanford administration has been focused on recruiting jobs and making the state's business climate attractive to industries through legislation like tort reform and income tax reduction.

"Some have gone through, some haven't," Faith said. "But the legislature has as much to do with that piece of economic development agenda as the governor."

Faith said the number of jobs recruited don't back up what Barrett says. Commerce recruited about 13,500 jobs with $2.8 billion in capital investment last year, Faith said.

South Carolina had the nation's sixth-highest unemployment rate, at 6.3 percent in June, the latest figures available. Nationally, the rate is 5 percent.

South Carolina has lost a total of 79,500 manufacturing jobs in the past five years, according to statistics from the Commerce Department. Almost half were losses in the textile industry.

"Clearly those are global economic forces changing the makeup of our state, and our whole country," Faith said. "We're filling a leaky bucket."

Faith said the real issue Barrett needs to work on in Congress is stopping jobs from going overseas.

New S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, also criticized Sanford last month, saying the state hasn't done enough to create jobs since Carroll Campbell and David Beasley were governors.

The criticism from Harrell and Barrett comes after Standard & Poor's downgraded the state's bond rating from the highest AAA level to AA-plus. Moody's Investors Service affirmed the top-tier rating but gave the state a negative outlook. The credit agencies cited the state's weak economy and high unemployment rate.