Donald Trump gets much-needed boost from delayed jobs report

In the first government-issued employment report since the shutdown delayed data collection and publication, the Department of Labor has handed President Donald Trump a strong set of jobs figures, desperately needed amid an otherwise gloomy economic picture.

In Thursday morning’s release, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said the U.S. economy added 119,000 jobs in September. The figure was more than double consensus forecasts of 50,000. August’s 22,000 gain, however, was downwardly revised to -4,000.

The report, originally scheduled for release in early October, found that the overall unemployment rate edged up to 4.4 percent from 4.3 percent in September.

The BLS on Wednesday confirmed that it will not be releasing a full jobs report for the month of October, previously set for release on November 7, citing data collection issues caused by the government shutdown. Payroll data will be included alongside November’s report on December 16, the agency said, but this will not include an unemployment rate for October.

More to follow.