Unless the jobs report shows unemployment miraculously falling a full percentage point, with 1,500,000 jobs created in the month of August, it's not going to be positive for the president. It would take about 500,000 jobs created each month between now and the election for the unemployment rate to fall to the level it was at when Reagan won re-election (the highest level of any modern president who was re-elected). It's not going to happen. There's a greater chance of the Cleveland Browns defeating the Detroit Lions in the Super Bowl.
The bottom-line: It may not hurt him, but it definitely will not help him.
It doesn't matter what the rate is, it just matters where it's going.
