Jobs report stronger than expected in September

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - The second to last jobs report before Election Day and the first one since the Federal Reserve cut the benchmark interest rate gave the White House Goldilocks vibes Friday.

"You continue to see evidence that this remains a strong and healthy but not too fast, not too hot economy," said Heather Boushey with the Council of Economic Advisers.

The report shows the economy added more than 250,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%.

"This is the kind of strong, steady pace that is delivering for people all across the country," Boushey said.

Boushey pointed specifically to the 25,000 new construction jobs. She credited the Biden administration with prioritizing infrastructure, semiconductors and clean energy.

"We've been seeing this run up in construction because of those investments," Boushey said.

Mark Hamrick, Bankrate's senior economic analyst, said the growth across a variety of sectors, from restaurants to retail, is a good sign.

"Here we have more participants taking part in the would be hiring party," Hamrick said.

The report also showed wages rising by 4% over the past year, which is above the recent pace of inflation.

"That means that buying power is slowly being restored," Hamrick said.

The Trump campaign argued all is not rosy. It said the U.S. has lost thousands of relatively high-paying manufacturing jobs in the past two months to foreign manufacturers.

According to a new Marist poll, many Americans are not sure the economy is "just right," with 40% surveyed saying the economy is in poor condition.

The next jobs report will come out just days before the presidential election. Economists expect the temporary port workers' strike, the ongoing Boeing strike and devastation from Hurricane Helene to impact that data.