(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden hailed the September jobs report, calling the numbers “an encouraging sign” the economy is moving toward “steady” growth.
“There’s more to do to grow our economy from the bottom up and middle out, but we’re making progress,” Biden said in a tweet Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 263,000 in September, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 3.5%, according to Labor Department data, matching a five-decade low.
Biden has argued his economic policies are working to keep the labor market strong. Robust job growth is one of his core arguments to voters ahead of the midterm elections, just one month away, which will determine if Democrats keep control of the House and Senate.
But high inflation remains a political liability for Biden, complicating his economic message. Republicans have been focusing on the still-high cost of groceries, housing and other items ahead of November.
Read More: US Jobs Rise While Unemployment Drops, Keeping Pressure on Fed
The numbers are likely to keep the Federal Reserve on pace for another significant interest rate hike. The Fed has been hoping to see a softening of the labor market, with the goal of slowing wage growth and lowering inflation.
September’s report follows a 315,000 gain in nonfarm payrolls in August, a sign of the job market’s persistent strength. It surpassed median estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists of a 255,000 advance in payrolls and an unemployment rate of 3.7%.
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