Jobs report gives Biden pre-State of the Union boost

A stronger-than-expected jobs report has put the wind at President Biden’s back ahead of his State of the Union address next week, and it could provide additional momentum as he prepares a reelection announcement in the coming weeks.

Biden on Friday hailed new data from the Labor Department that showed the economy added 517,000 jobs in January, far exceeding economists’ expectations. The president wasted little time connecting the positive development with next Tuesday’s address to the nation.

“Next week, I’ll be reporting on the state of the union. But today, I’m happy to report that the state of the union and the state of our economy is strong,” he said at the beginning of prepared remarks from the White House.