The White House claimed that slow job growth in October was due to hurricanes and labor strikes, but Trump laid the blame at Harris’ feet.
Last month, the U.S. saw an increase of just 12,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate steady at 4.1%, according to Labor Department figures.
Economists had anticipated fewer job gains, citing the walkout of over 30,000 Boeing machinists and damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Jared Bernstein, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, said both “powerful forces” to the lackluster jobs report.
“There were two powerful forces leading to negative and temporary impacts on payroll growth. Those were, of course, the hurricanes that really hit the southeastern United States, wide swaths therein, and the strikes,” Bernstein shared on CNBC. “If you account for those factors, the underlying pace of payroll job growth is still healthy, probably in the 150,000 range. That’s enough to keep the unemployment rate steady.”
He emphasized the stable 4.1% unemployment and highlighted other positive economic data like the 2.8% GDP growth rate from July to September.
“So take out the distortions, the temporary distortions from these two forces, the U.S. economy remains solid as ever,” he stated.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also noted “severe damage” from the storms impacted job gains, though they couldn’t quantify the exact effect.
“In October, unemployment was unchanged at 4.1%, but the devastation from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and new strike activity, lowered job growth,” President Joe Biden remarked on Friday.
“Job growth is expected to rebound in November as our hurricane recovery and rebuilding efforts continue,” he added.
“America’s economy remains strong, with 16 million jobs created since I took office, including an average 180,000 jobs created each month over the last year – more than the year before the pandemic,” Biden’s touted.
“We have the lowest average unemployment rate of any administration in 50 years, our economy has grown more than any presidential term this century, incomes are up $4,000 over prices, and inflation has fallen nearly to its 2 percent target.”
Meanwhile, Republican nominee Donald Trump criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, stating the report highlights how “badly Kamala Harris broke our economy.”
“In a single month, Kamala’s failed economic agenda wiped out nearly 30,000 private sector jobs and nearly 50,000 manufacturing jobs,” Trump campaign’s spokesperson Karoline Leavitt claimed.
“Working families are being ripped off by the Harris-Biden economic agenda. Kamala broke the economy. President Trump will fix it.”
