'Wowza': Economy Added 254,000 Jobs Under Biden-Harris in September

Friday's job report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics offered a "better than expected" picture of job growth as federal unemployment hit 4.1% and more than a quarter-million people were added to the payroll last month alone.

In what ABC Newsnoted was "one of the last major pieces of economic data before the presidential election," the jobs report offered an indication of economic strength—a possible boon to outgoing President Joe Biden's legacy and a political advantage to Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of November 5.

"U.S. hiring surged in September," the news outlet reported, "blowing past economist expectations and rebuking concern about weakness in the labor market."

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich responded to the new data Friday morning by pointing out that "more jobs have been created during the Biden-Harris presidency than during any single presidential term in history."

Donald Trump "doesn't often tell the truth, but he was right about this," added Reich, who quoted the GOP presidential candidate in 2004 admitting that "the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans."

"Wowza," said economist Justin Wolfers, a professor at the University of Michigan and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, in response to Friday's report.

Mentioning how payrolls grew by over 254,000 in September—"well above expectations"—and that large upward revisions were made to the August and July payroll numbers, Wolfers said the overall picture shows an "economic expansion that is motoring along."

"It was 'wow' across the board, much stronger than expected," Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab, toldCNBC. "The bottom line is it was a very good report. You get upward revisions and it tells you the job market continues to be healthy, and that means the economy is healthy."

Pointing to a recent analysis by her colleague Josh Bevins, Economic Policy Institute (EPI) economist Hilary Wething on Friday credited the strong performance represented by the new jobs numbers as the result of specific policies by the administration.

"You might think we just magically stumbled upon a consistently strong labor market—but no, this labor market is the result of policy choices that prioritized full employment—as it turns out putting people first, works," said Wething.

Elise Gould, a senior economist at EPI, also championed the "strong" figures:

In a blog post on Thursday, ahead of Friday's report—Gould detailed the strength of the labor market, despite the real pain that many workers and families still feel in their day to day lives:

It is indisputable that the U.S. labor market is strong. The share of the population ages 25–54 with a job is at a 23-year high, median household incomes rose 4.0% last year, and real wage growth over the last four years has been broad-based and strong. The economy has not only regained the nearly 22 million jobs lost in the pandemic recession, but also added another 6.5 million.

Are some folks still having a hard time? Absolutely. Even when the unemployment rate is low, there are still sidelined workers, and it remains difficult for many families to make ends meet on wages that are still too low. Unfortunately, that's a long-term phenomenon stemming from a too-stingy U.S. welfare state, rising inequality, and the legacy of anemic wage growth during past economic recoveries. But when comparing the labor market with four years ago (during the pandemic recession) or even before the pandemic began, the answer is clear: More workers have jobs and wages are beating inflation by solid margins.

With the Federal Reserve easing interest rates, in part based based on the strength of the hiring trends alongside lower inflation, Friday's jobs report was welcomed as a show of strength for progressives who have argued since the Covid-19 pandemic that pro-worker policies—as opposed to endless fealty to the demands of corporate powers and Wall Street—alongside public investments can work together to create strong economic foundations for the nation.

"Today's strong jobs report confirms once again that we never had to throw millions of people out of work to tame inflation," said Kitty Richards, a senior fellow with the left-leaning Groundwork Collaborative.

"Thanks to big investments in [pandemic] relief, manufacturing, and green energy, inflation is low, and the economy is still delivering for workers," Richards said. "The pundits who said we couldn't have low unemployment, growing wages, and stable prices at the same time have been proven wrong."