The November report on jobs is out and it contains reasonably good news. The best news is that the number of jobs dropped by only 11,000 and the job loss number for September and October was revised downward by 260,000. In addition, the weekly number of hours worked and overtime worked jumped, and the temporary-hiring sector expanded for the fourth month in a row.
As this analysis at the Corner explains, these numbers mean that the labor market has bottomed out and seems to be on the road to recovery. The mass layoffs and firings ended some time ago and now employers seem to be hiring new workers. However, with banks still not lending, there is reason for concern that job creation won’t be terribly robust.
What about the unemployment rate? It dropped from 10.2 percent to 10 percent. The movement is not significant and the statistic itself is not a great measure of the jobs situation. A decline can, and in this case may well, reflect discouraged workers who are not looking for jobs now.
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