WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — This is the jobs report President Barack Obama has been waiting for.

The Republicans just lost one of their most salient talking points against President Barack Obama: The unemployment rate dropped to 7.8% in September, the first time it’s been below 8% during his presidency. Read our full coverage of jobless rate falls to 7.8%, lowest since 2009

The decline in the unemployment rate in September came for all the right reasons: Employment rose, unemployment fell, and the labor force increased. The employment-population ratio (the percentage of adults with a job) rose from 58.3% to 58.7%. The last time it was higher was in September 2009.

The employment report is compiled from two separate surveys: one of businesses and the other of households. The report was half of a blockbuster, with the household survey blowing the doors off of expectations, and the business survey performing about as expected.

In the household survey (which is considered slightly more volatile), employment rose by an incredible 873,000 in September, while unemployment fell by 456,000. The labor force increased by 206,000, so the decline in the unemployment rate wasn’t due to people just becoming too discouraged to look for a job.

What September jobs figures mean

The survey of business establishments was good, but not as great as the household survey. It showed that payrolls increased by 114,000, as expected.

The good news was that job growth in the previous two months was revised higher by a total of 86,000. Payrolls are down by just 61,000 since January 2009, when Obama took office.

And even better, average wages rose by 0.3% and income from wages and salaries increased by 0.6%.

Of course, one jobs report doesn’t change an election, or show that the economy is all better. It doesn’t change the fact that the economy is still growing too slowly, or that far too many people are unemployed or underemployed.

If you think President Obama has failed, you’ll still think that after this report. And if you think that the president has the right policies to the turn the country around, this report is vindication. And if you haven’t made up your mind yet, hurry up. You’ve only got 32 days.

— Rex Nutting