But the committee was most interested in the jobs report, and there were about 30,000 fewer of those than had been anticipated. That poor performance is certain to become political fodder in the presidential campaign, Bennett said.

"It is unfortunate this discussion is taking place during a political election," Bennett said.

Some committee members, including Bennett, suggested the lower-that-expected numbers could be attributed to the four hurricanes that slammed into the Gulf Coast states, shutting down business and industry there.

If not for the weather, they suggested, the economic performance would have been much better and much less of a political issue.

But Utgoff said the impact was not significant in the big scheme of things. Though employment in hurricane-ravaged states went down in some sectors, it went up in others.

The bureau's review of September data "indicates that there was a negative impact on employment in those areas," noting some firms were not able to operate or operated at reduced levels. But other firms expanded employment in response to disaster cleanup needs and rebuilding.

"In addition, some firms adjacent to the hard-hit areas likely added workers to help accommodate evacuees," she said. "Overall, we do not believe that the net result of these factors materially changes the national employment situation for September, but we cannot precisely quantify the weather effects."

Bennett pointed to the bureau's own numbers that show 205,000 people missed work in September because of bad weather.

The ray of sunshine, he said, is that "Americans are going back to work, interest rates and inflation are low, business investment and consumer spending are strong, business activity is increasing and the home ownership rate in the U.S. is at a record high."

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E-mail: spang@desnews.com