As election season draws to an end, the American economy is cruising right along despite some charged campaign rhetoric.  It will be interesting to see how the candidates put their opposing spins on this report during the next debate.  Analysts also think the outcome of the debate will inform the market reaction to these numbers.  156,000 jobs were added in September while unemployment is also up slightly to 5%.  The labor force growth this represents is a good sign of continued economic recovery.  

A broader measure of unemployment that includes those who have stopped looking for jobs as well as those working part-time for economic reasons was unchanged at 9.7 percent.

The number of workers considered not in the labor force fell by 207,000 to 94.2 million, the number in the labor population surged by 444,000 and the level of the employed jumped by 354,000, according to the household survey. The employment-to-population ratio rose to 59.8 percent, a half-percentage point gain from a year ago.