The bailout of the car industry was worth it, and growth will cheer Obama – but there are some worrying long-term trends The latest US jobs numbers proved surprisingly strong, and will be a further boost to president Barack Obama as he gears up for an election that will be all about the economy. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 243,000 last month , the labour department said on Friday, marking the biggest gain since April. The jobless rate fell by two-tenths of a point to 8.3%, the lowest it has been since February 2009.