WASHINGTON – Opening the campaign's last month, Mitt Romney ticked off indicators of economic misery Saturday night to suggest that a drop in unemployment hasn't reversed what ails the nation. President Barack Obama's campaign and Democrats posted an impressive fundraising haul, easing the party's concerns that he would face a significant money disadvantage in the crucial closing days.

Romney rallied in battleground Florida the day after the government reported an unemployment rate of 7.8 percent in September, breaking a 43-month streak of joblessness of 8 percent or higher. The report also risked breaking Romney's stride, gained in a strong debate performance days earlier.

Persistently high unemployment, long after the recession's official end, has been a leading threat to Obama's re-election and the improvement came as a marked relief to the Obama campaign and a tricky development for his Republican rival.