US rivals hope for boost from new job data
Source: Agencies |
November 3, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
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THE final key economic report four days before the US presidential election held something for both candidates yesterday, showing the monthly unemployment rate ticked up slightly but created far more jobs than expected, as voters decide between a second term for President Barack Obama or a change to Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
With polls showing the candidates locked in one of the closest presidential contests in recent US history, Obama argues that the economy is well, if slowly, on the road to recovery from the Great Recession. Romney disagrees, calling the jobs report a "sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual standstill."
Obama will face voters with the highest unemployment rate of any incumbent since Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
US employers added 171,000 jobs in October, and hiring was stronger over the previous two months than first thought. The unemployment rate inched up to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent in September because the work force grew.
Unemployment remains below 8 percent, the lowest rate since Obama took office in January 2009.
The report came after other signs that the economy is on the mend. Most important, consumer confidence is up to its highest level since February of 2008, according to the Conference Board.
"While more work remains to be done, today's employment report provides further evidence that the US economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression," said the chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, Alan Krueger.
With the new report in hand, both candidates were plunging into a hectic pace of campaigning, with Obama eager to fend off Romney in the crucial battleground state of Ohio. Romney pushed to expand the contest to other states to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Polls show Obama holds a slight lead in a majority of the battleground contests where the outcome of the vote is likely to be determined.
Obama paused three days to manage the crisis surrounding Superstorm Sandy. Romney muted criticism of the president during those days and his campaign watched awkwardly as a once-prominent Obama critic, New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie, praised Obama and toured storm damage with him.
Obama on Thursday scored the endorsement of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said the storm had made the election's stakes even clearer. Bloomberg said the climate is changing and that Obama has taken major steps in the right direction on that issue.
The vote of confidence from the politically independent Bloomberg was a major boost for Obama. Both candidates had eagerly sought the backing of Bloomberg, a former Republican who didn't endorse a presidential candidate in 2008.
With polls showing the candidates locked in one of the closest presidential contests in recent US history, Obama argues that the economy is well, if slowly, on the road to recovery from the Great Recession. Romney disagrees, calling the jobs report a "sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual standstill."
Obama will face voters with the highest unemployment rate of any incumbent since Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
US employers added 171,000 jobs in October, and hiring was stronger over the previous two months than first thought. The unemployment rate inched up to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent in September because the work force grew.
Unemployment remains below 8 percent, the lowest rate since Obama took office in January 2009.
The report came after other signs that the economy is on the mend. Most important, consumer confidence is up to its highest level since February of 2008, according to the Conference Board.
"While more work remains to be done, today's employment report provides further evidence that the US economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression," said the chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, Alan Krueger.
With the new report in hand, both candidates were plunging into a hectic pace of campaigning, with Obama eager to fend off Romney in the crucial battleground state of Ohio. Romney pushed to expand the contest to other states to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Polls show Obama holds a slight lead in a majority of the battleground contests where the outcome of the vote is likely to be determined.
Obama paused three days to manage the crisis surrounding Superstorm Sandy. Romney muted criticism of the president during those days and his campaign watched awkwardly as a once-prominent Obama critic, New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie, praised Obama and toured storm damage with him.
Obama on Thursday scored the endorsement of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said the storm had made the election's stakes even clearer. Bloomberg said the climate is changing and that Obama has taken major steps in the right direction on that issue.
The vote of confidence from the politically independent Bloomberg was a major boost for Obama. Both candidates had eagerly sought the backing of Bloomberg, a former Republican who didn't endorse a presidential candidate in 2008.
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