How the Trump and Democratic Views Stack Up Against U.S. Jobs Reality

The U.S. government's September employment report shows a steady job market: companies adding positions, people joining the labor force. Donald Trump's campaign begs to differ – and says Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are to blame.

In a statement following Friday's data, David Malpass, senior adviser to the Republican presidential nominee, said the report "confirmed what people feel – that the Clinton-Obama economy is failing them." Trump's message that globalization, trade deals and immigration are to blame helped catapult him to victory in the Republican primary, though the general election has proved tougher. We looked at some of Malpass's assessments of the labor market and the views of Democratic officials and compared them with the facts.

Trump view: "The participation rate stands at only 62.9 percent, near a historic low. The overall unemployment rate is stuck at 9.7 percent. That means that millions of Americans are being left out of the recovery."

DNC Interim Chair Donna Brazile: "At the end of the last Republican administration, our economy was losing 800,000 jobs a month and millions of Americans were losing their homes and savings. But under the Obama administration, our economy has rebounded, the unemployment rate is at 5 percent, and U.S. businesses have created more than 15 million new jobs over the last 78 months."

The reality: A little of both viewpoints. The participation rate actually rose to a six-month high of 62.9 percent, but remains close to the lowest level since the 1970s. While the broader unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent in September, it's way down from a 17.1 percent peak in October 2009, in the immediate aftermath of the recession. The economy has indeed recovered under Obama, though growth has been slower than before the downturn.