the latest job report was strong enough to avoid any negative headlines for hillary clinton and the democrats. | getty the latest job report showed strong wage growth, undercutting trump<u+2019>s message of economic disaster. by ben white 11/04/16 09:52 am edt hillary clinton<u+2019>s campaign can breathe a little easier friday following a solid october jobs report issued just four days before the election. in the best news for clinton and the democrats, wages for american workers are now rising at the fastest pace in seven years. the october report was no blockbuster. it showed a gain of just 161,000 jobs, slightly below expectations. unemployment declined to 4.9 percent but 195,000 people left the labor force, reversing some of the big gains in september. story continued below but it was good enough to avoid any negative headlines at a time when clinton has seen her polling leads over republican nominee donald trump largely evaporate amid a wave of unpleasant news. and wages are now rising at a 2.8 percent annual pace, the fastest rate since 2009. stagnant wages have plagued the economy since the latest recovery began seven years ago, helping drive voter anxiety and aiding the rise of trump<u+2019>s brand of aggressive, nationalist populism. that story is now changing. <u+201c>this is clearly a boost to the clinton campaign. the economy is solid and most importantly wage growth is accelerating,<u+201d> said mark zandi, chief economist at moody<u+2019>s analytics. <u+201c>and most people think of their financial world through the prism of their paycheck. now they can say it<u+2019>s bigger than last year.<u+201d> by marianne levine the solid jobs report came following news last friday that the economy grew at a 2.9 percent annual pace in the third quarter, reversing dismal numbers earlier in the year and undermining trump<u+2019>s case that the economy had stalled. the october jobs report also showed the so-called u6 unemployment rate that includes discouraged and part-time workers dropping to 9.5 percent, the lowest since 2008. the labor department suggested hurricane matthew may have held down the overall job gains number. all told, the jobs report suggests the economy is returning to what policymakers view as <u+201c>full employment<u+201d> and employers are feeling the pressure to increase wages to both attract and retain workers. jobs gains for august and september were also revised upward by 44,000 and the three-month average is now 176,000, more than enough to keep unemployment dropping. <u+201c>today<u+2019>s october jobs report was very solid, with good details all around,<u+201d> pnc chief economist stuart hoffman wrote in a note to clients on friday. <u+201c>as the job market gets tighter, firms are responding to tougher competition for workers by raising pay. this is a big positive for income growth, consumer spending, and the overall economy.<u+201d> the report did leave room for republicans to criticize the pace of growth as too slow. and they did just that. <u+201c>the october jobs report continues the slow-growth trend we<u+2019>ve come to expect from the obama administration,<u+201d> house ways and means committee chairman kevin brady (r-texas) said in a statement. <u+201c>our economy is still not growing quickly enough for our country to reach its full potential. it<u+2019>s as if the administration is driving 35 miles per hour on the highway when the speed limit is 70.<u+201d> 2016 by gabriel debenedetti the jobs report is not expected to have any major impact on an election now focused on tightening polls, fbi leaks and vicious attacks from both sides. and the relatively modest headline job growth number will hide some of the better signals inside the report. <u+201c>this is overall a solid jobs report but a lot will depend on how the media reports it,<u+201d> said mohamed a. el-erian, chief economic adviser at allianz. <u+201c>the strength is in the prior months being revised up by 44,000 and annual wage growth at 2.8 percent.<u+201d> the report also highlights the persistent problem of a declining labor force. the participation rate declined to 62.8 percent and has been essentially stuck for years, presenting major policy challenges to the next occupant of the white house. <u+201c>we are stuck at multi-decade lows. you had a sharp fall back following the financial crisis and we have gotten stuck around there and the longer we stay there the more deeply embedded the problem is in the structure of our economy,<u+201d> el-erian said. some polls now show clinton leading on who is better suited to handle the economy, an issue trump once dominated. the latest abc news/washington post tracking poll showed clinton with wide leads on handling the economy among voters who rate it as the most important issue. but the brisk wage gains probably come too late to offer her much of a boost. <u+201c>if this election were held a year from now, it would probably be a slam-dunk for democrats,<u+201d> zandi said. <u+201c>the american jobs machine is humming along.<u+201d> by michael grunwald by bill scher by thomas wright by joshua zeitz
october jobs report: clinton dodges economic shock - politico
ben white marianne levine gabriel debenedetti michael grunwald