Strong Jobs Report and Port Strike Deal Bolster Vice President Harris

Strong Jobs Report and Port Strike Resolution

A much better-than-expected jobs report released just hours after the quick suspension of a longshoreman's strike is giving a boost and some relief to Vice President Harris's campaign. The port strike had threatened to bottle up the economy and was the most politically threatening of a trio of recent challenges faced by Harris and the White House.

Impact of the Port Strike

The White House made an intense push to end the strike quickly, putting heavy pressure on both the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) to come to the table in the days before and after dockworkers walked off the job. The strike, which shut down most activity at East and Gulf Coast ports after the two sides failed to reach an agreement by Monday at midnight, threatened to upend the economy just one month out from the election.

Jobs Report and Economic Growth

However, the longshoreman’s union and the coalition of companies operating at eastern U.S. ports reached a tentative agreement Thursday night to end the strike after just two days. The cherry on top for Democrats was Friday's jobs report, which showed the labor market remained strong despite fears this summer about weakening. The U.S. added an impressive 254,000 jobs in September, well above the 140,000 anticipated by economists. Upward revisions for July and August, which showed an additional 72,000 jobs added across the two months, also indicated that earlier signs of weakening weren’t as pronounced as they first appeared.

• Unemployment rate decreased to 4.1 percent.
• Wage growth outpaced inflation with average hourly earnings up 4 percent over the past year.
• Mark Zandi of Moody's Analytics praised the jobs report, stating, 'the economy is at full-employment.'

Political Ramifications for Harris

Both the end of the port strike and the strong jobs report are good news for the economy and, as a result, good for Harris. Experts estimated the work stoppage could have cost the economy up to $5 billion a day, and a long port strike would have made this situation much more challenging for Harris. Under the tentative deal reached, dockworkers would see their wages rise 62 percent over a six-year contract.

In light of recent challenges, Harris has gained some ground on her Republican opponent Trump, trailing by just 4 points on economic handling in a recent poll. While she remains behind him, the improving economic indicators are encouraging signs as the election approaches.