We begin tonight with the economy and a booming new government report showing the jobs market is stronger than expected. Businesses added three hundred and thirty-six thousand jobs last month nearly doubling expectations. The unemployment rate remained near a historic low of three-point eight percent. President B hailed the news crediting his economic policies for keeping the unemployment rate below four percent for twenty months in a row. That’s the longest stretch in fifty years. Wall Street liked what it was hearing, with the DOW jumping nearly three hundred points and the S&P rising more than one percent. While businesses are reporting record profits, some workers are not feeling the benefits with ongoing strikes calling for more pay and better job protections.

This strong jobs report could lead the federal reserve to hike interest rates again next month to try to further curb inflation. That, of course, would make borrowing more expensive when it comes to cars and mortgages and credit cards. And these are all things that striking workers out here are telling us they already can’t afford it. It’s a tale of two economies. Strikers continue their walkouts nationwide as a strong September jobs reports shows the economy continues to grow. Three hundred thirty-six thousand jobs were added last month smashing economists’ expectations posting a thirty-three straight month of gains. July and August jobs were revised up, adding one hundred nineteen thousand more than previously reported. Four hundred and fifty-three thousand have walked off the job this year alone, including actors who’ve been on the picket lines for eighty-four days. It’s been three weeks now for striking autoworkers. Today, their union president announced they would not expand their strike as negotiations continue with the Big Three automakers. It’s a feeling shared among the seventy-five thousand striking Kaiser healthcare workers