US President Barack Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney have traded accusations over the United States economy after the publication of the latest data on unemployment.
Back on the campaign trail ahead of the 6 November election, both men appeared in Iowa and New Hampshire on the first full day after the end of the party conventions, the BBC reports.
Mr Romney described the jobless rate as unimaginable, saying Mr Obama was taking America in the wrong direction.
"Had his policies worked as he thought they would there would be nine million more Americans working," Mr Romney told a campaign rally in Iowa.
Mr Obama, campaigning in New Hampshire, conceded that the unemployment figures were not good enough.
"We need to create more jobs faster. We need to fill the hole left by this recession faster."
The US Bureau of Labour report on Friday said 96,000 jobs were created in August - fewer than analysts had expected. The unemployment rate fell from 8.3% to 8.1% but only because more people gave up looking for work.
Meanwhile, the Romney campaign released a glut of 15 anti-Obama ads on Friday as part of a broadcast campaign in eight swing states.
The ads are scheduled to run in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia, giving an indication of where the campaign will direct its energy.
