Today’s lack-of-jobs report couldn’t be bleaker. Even an Obama-leaning news service like Reuters has nothing good to say. It’s even given up on trying to spin in the president’s favor. Perhaps the only good news for Democrats is that they had no balloons last night to toss around and so it can’t be said that the air has gone out of them and any post-convention bounce:

WASHINGTON — U.S. jobs growth slowed more than expected in August, setting the stage for the Federal Reserve to pump additional money into the sluggish economy next week and dealing a blow to President Obama as he seeks reelection in November.

Nonfarm payrolls increased only 96,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. While the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent in July, it was largely due to Americans giving up the search for work.

The report’s weak tenor was also underscored by revisions to June and July data to show 41,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported. The labor force participation rate, or the precentage of Americans who either have a job or are looking for one, fell to 63.5 percent — the lowest since September 1981.