The United States added 254,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent, according to new Labor Department statistics released Friday.
September's employment report exceeded economists' expectations, which had predicted that employment would increase by 140,000 people and the unemployment rate would rise to 4.2%.
The September jobs report will be released about a month before the election, and Vice President Harris is trying to close the gap with former President Trump on who voters trust more to run the economy.
It also comes just two weeks after the Federal Reserve opted to cut interest rates for the first time since it began an aggressive interest rate hike campaign more than two years ago.
The central bank cut interest rates by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75% to 5% as inflation approaches the Fed's target and the labor market shows signs of weakening.
The Fed began shedding inflation in early 2022 when inflation spiked, eventually hitting 9.1% in June of that year, a 40-year high. The central bank has repeatedly raised interest rates until July 2023 and left them unchanged until September of this year.
Inflation has eased significantly over the past two years. As of August, consumer prices rose only 2.5% year-on-year.
But the labor market, which had remained remarkably strong despite the Fed's interest rate hike campaign, began to show signs of weakening this summer. July's jobs report was much weaker than expected, with only 114,000 jobs added and the unemployment rate rising to 4.3%.
The drop in interest rates raised some concerns that the Fed had waited too long to cut rates. However, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell rejected suggestions that the central bank is lagging behind.
“I don't think we're behind the curve,” Powell said at a press conference after the rate cut last month. “I think this is timely, and I think it can be seen as a sign of our determination not to get left behind.”
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