White House says jobs data shows economy recovering

A top White House economic adviser said on Friday that the lower U.S. jobless rate in September showed the economy was continuing to recover but that more steps were needed to dig out of the deep hole created by recession.

The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a near four-year low of 7.8 percent in September, a potential boost to President Barack Obama's re-election bid. The Labor Department said unemployment fell last month by 0.3 percentage point to its lowest point since January 2009 as employers added 114,000 jobs.

"While there is more work that remains to be done, today's employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression," Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement.

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Vicki Allen)