epa11616738 Democratic presidential candidate US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 20 September 2024 (issued 21 September 2024). EPA-EFE/KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI 
“You really couldn’t ask realistically for a better report for the economy — coupled with finding out that the port strike is not going to be an extended matter, and that at least for months, this is not going to be an issue,” Goolsbee told Bloomberg Television Friday. “Those are two pieces of very good news.”
Trump and Harris have rolled out dueling economic plans in recent weeks, with Trump calling for tax cuts and sprawling tariffs to push supply chains to the US, and Harris calling the tariffs a sales tax. She’s pitching an “opportunity economy” that includes tax increases for corporations, an expansion of a tax credit for business startups and expanded child benefit payments.
Read More: What to Know About Kamala Harris’ Economic Plan: QuickTake
The hope for Democrats is that voter perceptions of the economy - which has been an albatross for the Biden-Harris administration as voters bristle at high inflation that has punished incumbents in elections worldwide - rebound to reflect generally strong topline data.
“Many people predicted that we would not be able to do this — have this kind of recovery and have incredible job growth while keeping the unemployment rate low, while bringing down inflation and interest rates,” Julie Su, the acting Secretary of Labor, told Bloomberg Television Friday. “All of those things are now happening.”
MAGA Inc., the super political action committee supporting Trump, questioned the jobs data and pointed to downward revisions to previous estimates, suggesting Friday’s employment figures could later be reduced.
“Kamala is trying to gaslight the American people into thinking the economy is slowly recovering,” the super PAC said in a statement Friday. “The American people are smarter than that- they see through these desperate tactics that Kamalanomics is failing them.”
Harris remains underwater on the economy as an issue in her race against Trump, though she has closed the gap since Biden dropped out.
Just 33% of voters in battleground states, say the national economy is on the right track, according to a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of likely voters in the seven top battleground states published last week.
Read More: Harris Holds Razor-Thin Lead Across Swing States in Tight Race
But that’s up from 31% the month prior and 28% in the last poll before Biden dropped out, previous waves of the poll found.
Trump holds a lead among battleground voters asked who they trust more to manage the economy — 49% say Trump to 45% who say Harris, the poll found. But that also has narrowed.
Trump led Biden 51-37% when respondents were asked who they trust more on the economy. That 14-point gap is now four points for Harris.
The resolution of the port strike also heads off what could have cascaded into a fresh supply chain crisis that would have exacerbated voter concerns about costs.
“The most important thing — our ports are back open, our dock workers are back at work, American consumers won’t see really any effect of this at all,” White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard said Friday in an appearance on Bloomberg Television.