What You Need to Know About April’s Jobs Numbers

Roughly one year ago, many of us were encouraged by a string of positive jobs reports which showed the economy was adding on average 275,000 jobs for month. And then came the spring swoon, ushering in a long stretch in which the economy struggled to add even enough jobs to keep up with population growth. While the unemployment continued to fall slowly throughout the year, much of that progress was due to workers dropping out of the labor force altogether.

Here it is, folks: The final jobs report before the 2012 Presidential Election. The Labor Department announced this morning that the U.S. economy added 171,000 jobs in October, and that the unemployment rate ticked up one-tenth of one percent to 7.9%, besting the consensus prediction of 125,000 new jobs. And with the announcement, the government’s monthly Employment Situation Report can now revert back to its usual status of being just another data point among many which help paint a picture of the state of the economy.

The Labor Department issued its monthly employment report on Friday and the news wasn't good. Payrolls did increase with 115,000 positions but that was less than the month before and far less than what most economists were expecting.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

The April U.S. nonfarm payrolls report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on its face looks like a big disappointment with 115,000 jobs created last month, versus economists' consensus forecast for 160,000. Despite the miss on the highly anticipated monthly jobs report, there is little despair to be found in stocks.

Damages related to Greek debt exposure continue to mount. ING and BNP have both taken writeoffs related to Greek debt and both are cutting jobs.Expect more damage related to sovereign debt in Spain, Portugal, and Italy as well as general writeoffs related to the European recession. Please see Europe Undeniably in Recession; Germany Manufacturing PMI Contracts for First Time in Two Years, New Orders Collapse for a discussion of the recession.

Recent reports from the Labour Department showed that the US market has started recovering as employers have opened well above the expected new positions and forecasts indicate that this trend will continue in the future months.

Eddy Elfenbein submits: The April jobs report came out this morning. The economy added 244,000 jobs last month. For March, the jobs gain was revised higher to 221,000.