Jobs Report, First Impressions

jaredbernsteinblog.com — Well, how about that? A hefty upside surprise from the jobs report. Employers added 243,000 jobs last month—257,000 in the private sector—with gains across most industries. And the unemployment rate ticked down from 8.5% to 8.3%, the lowest it has been since Feb 09. Technical issues having to do with fun stuff like revisions and seasonal adjustments are playing a role in the monthly numbers right now so it’s good to average over a few months. Over the last three months, the average rate of job growth has been 200,000, compared to about half that if you go back a few months. As I stress below, today’s report contains a critical message for policy makers; we’ve got some real momentum here on the most important economic issue to the American people–JOBS…let’s not screw it up. Now, for some caveats.

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