President Biden is slated to appear Friday in the White House Rose Garden to comment on the August jobs report, which generally showed a steady labor market.
Unemployment, which was expected to hover at July’s 3.5 percent, inched up to 3.8 percent according to the data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report beat expectations with 187,000 jobs added, a number equal to July’s total. The total percentage of people employed or looking for work rose 0.2 percent after several months without much change.
Biden is tying much of his case for reelection to public perception of a healthy economy, which will likely depend on jobs numbers as well as inflation. Consumer price hikes have generally abated since the Fed began raising interest rates in 2022, although recent reports have shown small upticks.
The president is scheduled to speak at 11:15 a.m. EDT.
Watch the live video above.