Obama campaign bracing for election-eve jobs dip

“Of course we’re worried about it,” admitted an Obama campaign aide, on the prospect of an eleventh hour jobs report showing a spike in the unemployment rate. “But thankfully a large portion of the country will have voted by then.”

Indeed, a higher figure is not just possible; many on both sides see it as likely.

“The unemployment rate in the next jobs report will likely be higher than 7.8,” said American Enterprise Institute economist Michael Strain. “Whether that is 7.9, 8.0, 8.1, I don’t know.”