Another blow to President Trump as the latest jobs report suggests the US economy is in freefall just one month before the midterm elections

 The US economy added just 29,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.2 percent.

The Labor Department’s September jobs report is yet another piece of bad news for President Donald Trump just one month before midterm elections in which the health of the economy is weighing on voters’ minds. 

Hiring undershot the 84,000 forecasters had expected. Past revisions made the news look even worst, with July’s number cut to -10,000 from +21,000, and August payrolls reduced to 133,000 from 162,000. 

Hiring remains far below the 166,000 monthly jobs that were the norm in 2023 and 2024, let alone the 491,000 a month recorded during the 2021-2022 hiring boom that followed pandemic lockdowns.

‘Today’s ice-cold report shows the jobs market may not be as healthy as previous data might have suggested,’ Nic Puckrin, markets expert and former Goldman Sachs analyst, told the Daily Mail.

The job market has proven solid in the face of a series of shocks – trade wars, persistent inflation, high interest rates and a conflict with Iran that has driven energy prices higher. 

Friday’s jobs report is the last one that will come out before November 3 elections that will determine whether the Republicans maintain control of Congress. 

This is a breaking news alert, more to follow….