The government, delivering the last major snapshot of the economy before Election Day, reported on Friday that employers added 161,000 workers in October, a performance that suggests a healthy outlook for the months ahead.

The official unemployment rate dropped to 4.9 percent.

Average hourly earnings rose 2.8 percent year over year, a level not reached since July 2008.

For the presidential campaign, the latest employment report serves as a Rorschach test allowing each side to offer its own distinctive narrative of the economy’s performance and prospects.

More at The New York Times.