ICYMI: Jobs Up, Stock Market Up, Wages Up (Also, Rising Faster Than Prices), Crime Down, Border Encounters Down

In case you missed it, this week President Biden and Vice President Harris continued to deliver for Americans by making communities safer, securing our border, creating jobs, and raising wages.Read more below:

Yesterday, we got good news for American workers and families: more than 250,000 new jobs last month for a total 16 million jobs created under the Biden-Harris Administration. Unemployment fell to 4.1%, with the lowest average unemployment of any Administration in 50 years, and wages are rising faster than prices. And the stock market closed at another record high, rising almost 50% under this Administration.

Yahoo: US jobs report crushes expectations as economy adds 254,000 jobs, unemployment rate falls to 4.1%

The US labor market added far more jobs than projected in September while the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked lower, reflecting a stronger picture of the jobs market than Wall Street had expected. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday showed the labor market added 254,000 payrolls in September, more additions than the 150,000 expected by economists. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, from 4.2% in August. September job additions came in higher than the revised 159,000 added in August. Revisions to both the July and August report showed the US economy added 72,000 more jobs during those two months than previously reported.

NBC News: Dow closes at record high after blow-out jobs report

Stocks advanced on Friday after an expectation-defying jobs report gave investors confidence around the health of the economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% to 5,751.07, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.22% to 18,137.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 341.16 points, or 0.81%, to notch an all-time closing high of 42,352.75. Stocks rallied after data showed nonfarm payrolls grew by 254,000 jobs in September, far outpacing the forecasted gain of 150,000 from economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% despite expectations for it to hold steady at 4.2%.

Washington Post: How Biden helped end a port strike that threatened Democrats in NovemberAt 5:30 a.m. Thursday, before the sun had risen above his Washington home, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients was on a Zoom call with two Cabinet secretaries and the executives of the shipping companies negotiating with workers who had gone on strike at critical docks along the East and Gulf coasts, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. […] Less than 12 hours later, White House officials were celebrating a deal to reopen the ports until January […] The agreement provides collective if temporary relief to skittish Democrats from the White House to Capitol Hill, […] along with Friday’s strong jobs report.

CNN: Striking port workers to return to work Friday as negotiators reach an agreement on wages

In a statement, President Joe Biden praised the tentative wage deal. “Today’s tentative agreement on a record wage and an extension of the collective bargaining process represents critical progress towards a strong contract,” he said. “I congratulate the dockworkers from the ILA, who deserve a strong contract after sacrificing so much to keep our ports open during the pandemic. And I applaud the port operators and carriers who are members of the US Maritime Alliance for working hard and putting a strong offer on the table.” Vice President Kamala Harris also applauded the agreement, saying in a statement: “This is about fairness — and our economy works best when workers share in record profits. Dockworkers deserve a fair share for their hard work getting essential goods out to communities across America.”

NPR: Ports strike ends with agreement on wages, averting economic disaster

[…] President Biden repeatedly vowed to let the collective bargaining process play out. “I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” Biden told reporters days before the strike, citing the federal law that allows the president to call for an 80-day cooling-off period when the nation’s safety is at risk. About 12 hours after the strike began on Tuesday, Biden issued a statement urging the U.S. Maritime Alliance to present what he called a fair offer, citing the 800 percent growth in profits some ocean carriers saw in the pandemic. “It’s only fair that workers, who put themselves at risk during the pandemic to keep ports open, see a meaningful increase in their wages as well,” he wrote.

Washington Examiner: Crime keeps falling through first half of year, FBI data showsCrime continues to decline nationwide, as the FBI’s latest data snapshot released Monday showed killings, shootings and muggings are trending down through the first six months of 2024. The Quarterly Uniform Crime Report, which covers January through June, reported a 10% decrease in violent crime and a 13% drop in property crime throughout the country when compared to the same time period last year. The FBI said murders are down 23%, rapes are down 18%, and robberies and aggravated assaults are down 14% and 8%, respectively, over that span.

New York Times: Murder in U.S. Continues Steep Decline, F.B.I. Reports

The number of murders reported in the United States dropped in 2023 at the fastest rate on record, continuing a decline from the surge in homicides during the pandemic, the F.B.I. reported on Monday. The F.B.I.’s report, which is the agency’s final compilation of crime data for 2023, showed that there were about 2,500 fewer homicides in 2023 that year than in 2022, a decline of 11.6 percent. That was the largest year-to-year decline since national record-keeping began in 1960, according to Jeff Asher, a crime data analyst based in New Orleans. […] In a statement, President Biden cited the reduction in crime and pointed to investments in community anti-violence groups that were part of Covid stimulus legislation, saying, “Americans are safer now than when we took office.” He also urged more funding for police departments.

CNN: Migrant crossings at the US’ southern border drop again […]Migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border remain at their lowest levels since 2020, according to new federal data obtained by CNN, as Republicans and Democrats spar over border security.

Pew Research Center: Migrant encounters at U.S.-Mexico border have fallen sharply in 2024

The Border Patrol recorded 58,038 encounters with migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in August, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the latest available government statistics. That was a 77% decline from 249,741 encounters in December 2023, the most ever recorded in a single month. The decline in encounters has come amid policy changes on both sides of the border. Authorities in Mexico have stepped up enforcement to prevent migrants from reaching the U.S. border. And U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order in June that makes it much more difficult for migrants who enter the U.S. without legal permission to seek asylum and remain in the country.