The US unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level in almost four years, giving President Barack Obama a boost as the presidential race enters its final month.
The rate tumbled to 7.8pc in September, its lowest level since Mr Obama's first month in office, from 8.1pc in August, the Bureau of Labor said on Friday.
Mr Obama will seize on the figure in his election fight against Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who comfortably won this week's first presidential debate and has lambasted the incumbent for his record on the economy.
Before this morning's release, the unemployment rate had been above 8pc for 43 months in a row, the longest stretch since just after World War Two.
America's monthly employment report is made up of two separate surveys, and the second one showed that 114,000 jobs were created last month.
That matched the expectation of Wall Street economists. Mr Obama and Mr Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, clash on how to ignite a US recovery that has remained tepid since the economy officially emerged from recession in the summer of 2009.
Last September, Mr Obama failed to persuade Congress to pass a $440bn stimulus plan that included a mix of tax cuts and infrastructure spending.
Mr Romney, who was chief executive of private equity firm Bain Capital before going into politics, is instead proposing tax cuts for all Americans in a bid to stimulate consumer spending and jobs growth.
Hopes of a speedy reduction in unemployment are also being hampered by the inability of politicians in Washington to agree on a long-term plan to rein in America's debt without suffocating the recovery.
The failure to reach a deal over the last three years has left the economy facing what has been dubbed the 'fiscal cliff', a mixture of tax rises and spending cuts that are due to take effect at the start of next year.
Economists at Bank of America have warned that if all the measures take effect, it would amount to a fiscal headwind of about 4pc of US gross domestic product.
A survey of chief executives published last week showed that less than a third expect to increase hiring over the next six months, with many citing the uncertainty over future tax and spending policies.
telegraph.co.uk
The rate tumbled to 7.8pc in September, its lowest level since Mr Obama's first month in office, from 8.1pc in August, the Bureau of Labor said on Friday.
Mr Obama will seize on the figure in his election fight against Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who comfortably won this week's first presidential debate and has lambasted the incumbent for his record on the economy.
Before this morning's release, the unemployment rate had been above 8pc for 43 months in a row, the longest stretch since just after World War Two.
America's monthly employment report is made up of two separate surveys, and the second one showed that 114,000 jobs were created last month.
That matched the expectation of Wall Street economists. Mr Obama and Mr Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, clash on how to ignite a US recovery that has remained tepid since the economy officially emerged from recession in the summer of 2009.
Last September, Mr Obama failed to persuade Congress to pass a $440bn stimulus plan that included a mix of tax cuts and infrastructure spending.
Mr Romney, who was chief executive of private equity firm Bain Capital before going into politics, is instead proposing tax cuts for all Americans in a bid to stimulate consumer spending and jobs growth.
Hopes of a speedy reduction in unemployment are also being hampered by the inability of politicians in Washington to agree on a long-term plan to rein in America's debt without suffocating the recovery.
The failure to reach a deal over the last three years has left the economy facing what has been dubbed the 'fiscal cliff', a mixture of tax rises and spending cuts that are due to take effect at the start of next year.
Economists at Bank of America have warned that if all the measures take effect, it would amount to a fiscal headwind of about 4pc of US gross domestic product.
A survey of chief executives published last week showed that less than a third expect to increase hiring over the next six months, with many citing the uncertainty over future tax and spending policies.
telegraph.co.uk
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