As predicted, the unemployment figures posted in the last key economic bulletin before the national election elicited a yelp from the White House and a snort from the Romney campaign.
The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent in October from September's 7.8 percent.
Just before Tuesday's election, the uptick produced finger-pointing from GOP candidate Mitt Romney, who said in a statement, "The jobless rate is higher than it was when President Obama took office and there are still 23 million Americans struggling for work."
Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Alan Krueger said the unemployment rate ticked higher "largely" because more people entered the workforce and spun the blame toward the House which has failed to follow the Senate in approving an extension to middle class tax cuts that would save the typical wage earner $2,000 in additional taxes in 2013.
The White House also asserted there were 184,000 private sector jobs added to the economy in October, the most in eight months.
President Barack Obama touted the progress made, but said at a campaign stop in Ohio there was "more work to do," to get the economy back on track.
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