The BLS report came out with 204,000 new jobs for the month, nearly double the consensus estimate.
However…
-The household survey showed a drop of 623,000 full-time workers and 127,000 part-time workers – so much for trying to extrapolate the September numbers that showed an unexpected (and apparently one-time) surge in full-time workers
-No shock, but nearly half the headline number consisted of low-wage jobs (retail, hotel, temps)
-The participation rate dropped to 62.8%, reflecting a loss of 932,000 people from the labor force and the lowest rate since 1978
But, by all means, let’s get very excited about a robust recovery.
