The government said Friday the labor market continued to improve in October, with the unemployment rate dropping to 4.9 percent, as employers added 161,000 jobs last month.
The final economic report before the election could be good news for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, as the economy continued to add jobs at a steady pace.
But the campaign of Republican Donald Trump called it a “disastrous” report, saying it “underscores the total failures of the Obama-Clinton economy that delivers only for donors and special interests and robs working families.”
White House chief economic adviser Jason Furman said U.S. businesses have added a total of 15.5 million jobs since 2010.
He said average hourly earnings for all private workers increased 2.8 percent over the past year, “the fastest twelve-month pace since the end of the recession.”
Trump campaign policy director Steven Miller said Mr. Obama is “the first president in modern history not to have a single year of three-percent growth.”
SEE ALSO: U.S. employers add solid 161K jobs; unemployment at 4.9 percent
“Nearly half a million people left the workforce last month, a painful and massive decline. Over 14 million have left the workforce since Obama came into office, bringing the total not working to 94 million,” Mr. Miller said. “In four days, voters will get the chance to vote to take power back from the special interests and return it to the people.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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