Biden preaches patience to voters spooked by economic tumult

WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to reassuring Americans about an economy that's an election-year challenge for his party, President Joe Biden is telling the country to hold on.

It's a message of patience as voters are buffeted by persistent inflation, fears of a recession and the prospect of rising energy prices in the closing weeks of the campaign season when they will determine the fate of vulnerable Democrats and control of Congress.

The $25 trillion-plus economy is veering in two radically different directions.

Growth has fallen for two straight quarters, raising the specter of recession. But job gains have rolled on, including 263,000 more in September as a sign of economic health. Nonetheless, the latest jobs report sent stocks plummeting Friday on renewed worries that the Federal Reserve will have to continue aggressive interest rate increases to temper rising consumer prices.

Biden argued that the newest numbers are solid and have slowed in recent months in a way that points toward inflation easing. Major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia dealt him a “disappointment” with their decision last week to cut production, but the U.S. government forecasts that domestic output should increase by an average of roughly 840,000 barrels a day next year.

Speaking at a Volvo drivetrain factory in Hagerstown, Maryland, Biden tried to make the case once more that lots more factory jobs were on the horizon.

“This is the progress we need to see,” the president said. “In the short term, the transition to a more stable growth that continues to deliver for workers and families while bringing inflation down. In the long term, the economy built on a firmer foundation. We still have a lot of work to do. We’re building a different economy than before, a better...