For the first time in his presidency, Barack Obama can call himself a job creator.

There are now more U.S. jobs than when he took office. Not by much, but they’ve moved out of negative territory, according to a Labor Department revision.

It probably won’t help Pres. Obama much in his race for re-election. The economy is still a long way from firing on all cylinders.

But the revision — showing employers added 386,000 more jobs than had previously been estimated in the 12 months ended in March — was clearly good news for the White House as Pres. Obama heads into a crucial week.

The focus of next Wednesday’s first presidential debate will be the economy. On Friday, the September employment report comes out.

Economists don’t expect much change in the jobless figures from August’s 8.1 percent unemployment rate.