Employment Data Were Still Weak
Courtesy of Bondsquawk
David Rosenberg, economist for Gluskin Sheff provided more insight on last Friday’s employment report in his daily report, “Breakfast with Dave.”
It’s quite amazing to see what the “take” was on last Friday’s U.S. jobs report. The WSJ was fairly typical of the general response — Jobs Data Provide Hope was the front page headline. That is only true in the sense that the nonfarm payroll number came in above expectations, but the report, while hardly horrible, was still quite weak and highly unusual for an economy operating on so many government-applied steroids.
Returning strikers added 10,000 workers and the Birth-Death model, when accurately measured, contributed a net 17,000 jobs, so strip out these two effects and we actually end up with +40,000, which was bang on the consensus estimate. So, this was not a figure deserving of a triple-digit gain in the Dow (the market rally was again on lower volume) and the spike in bond yields we saw. A huge overreaction to what was still a soft report, in our view, and not one that settles the debate over the prospect of a double-dip recession.
Recall that the month before the Great Recession began in late 2007, the economy managed to generate 97,000 private sector jobs that month. It was the data three-, six- and 12-months later that mattered most and nothing in November 2007 prepared anyone for what was to come down the pike. To be thinking that we are out of the woods because of Friday’s data is just about the biggest mistake anyone can be thinking right now.
The markets are also feeling good because of all the trial balloons being floated over more government stimulus (see more on this below). It’s with that in mind that we decided to reprint this headline from the New York Times, dated November 29, 2007 — Dow Surges on Hints of a Cut in Interest Rates by Michael M. Grynbaum. The article asserted that “Capping a series of wild swings, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to its biggest one-day percentage gain in more than four years yesterday after a top Federal Reserve official hinted at another interest rate cut.” Guess what? The Fed sure did end up cutting rates — all the way to zero — and the stock market still went down 60%. Don’t fight the Fed, eh?
