Obama's re-election campaign boosted by positive jobs data

The US jobless rate abruptly was abruptly down in September to its lowest level since the month president Obama took office, pointing to a steadier recovery than earlier thought and delivering a much needed boost to president Obama's re-election campaign.

The figures lent support to Obama's case that the economy was picking up and threatened the central argument of Mitt Romney's candidacy, that Obama's failed stewardship was reason he had to be replaced.

The Labor Department reported yesterday that employers added a modest 114,000 jobs last month. (See: US jobless rate falls to 7.8% in September).

Unemployment was down to 7.8 per cent from 8.1 per cent, crossing what had become a symbolic threshold in the campaign, blunting Romney's favourite line of attack, mocking the president for ''43 straight months with unemployment above 8 per cent.''

According to analysts, the new numbers may have more political import, rather than economic significance as they represent only one month of data that could be quite volatile giving little indication that the slow recovery had accelerated.

The data energised Obama's campaign in Virginia and Ohio, after his dismal performance in the first debate this week. Romney, whose vigorous performance in Denver had emboldened his campaign, lost no time in playing down the report, saying it merely confirmed that millions of Americans had given up looking for work.