The booming jobs market in September may give former President Donald Trump one less thing to attack Vice President Harris on as the election nears.
The latest jobs report might be just what Vice President Kamala Harris needs.
After months of data reflecting a cooling labor market, the September jobs report came in surprisingly strong, with the economy adding 254,000 jobs, well above what economists expected.
The unemployment rate also unexpectedly ticked down to 4.1% in September; it was expected to hold at 4.2%, so the drop is another sign of a stronger-than-expected labor market.
With the presidential election a month away, the robust job growth looks like the boost Harris needs in the economy. After a bout of high inflation during the pandemic, the economy has typically been a weak spot for Harris and President Joe Biden.
The pace of inflation has slowed more recently, but many Americans have still reported financial strains from high grocery and gas prices, and they couldn’t quite see the country’s economic progress in their wallets.
The latest jobs report could change that — taking away some of former President Donald Trump’s basis for hammering Harris on the economy.
Matt Colyar, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, told Business Insider that the closer Americans get to the election, the more important recent economic data becomes.
