Suitably Flip

Takin' What They Givin'

The Labor Department is out with its December employment report.  And hoo boy, it's a whopper.

Unemployment remained at the sillily low rate of 4.5%, which is impressive in its own right.  But the economy actually added 167,000 jobs in December, far more than the 115,000 analysts were expecting.  What's more, wages grew mightily, up 0.5% over the previous month, a bigger jump than then 0.3% expected.  For the year, wages are up 4.2%, the biggest annual increase since bubble times.

The equity markets are shoving their hands in their pockets and kicking the dirt only because the unexpectedly strong continuing growth in the labor market portends a faster growing economy in general, making it less likely the interest rate cut(s) they'd half-expected to come from Ben Bernanke later this year become less likely.

Humbugs.

It's still happy and surprisingly good news and we should all take a moment out of our day to bow at the altar of supply side economics.  Auteur!  Auteur!

Comments

Takin' What They Givin'

The Labor Department is out with its December employment report.  And hoo boy, it's a whopper.

Unemployment remained at the sillily low rate of 4.5%, which is impressive in its own right.  But the economy actually added 167,000 jobs in December, far more than the 115,000 analysts were expecting.  What's more, wages grew mightily, up 0.5% over the previous month, a bigger jump than then 0.3% expected.  For the year, wages are up 4.2%, the biggest annual increase since bubble times.

The equity markets are shoving their hands in their pockets and kicking the dirt only because the unexpectedly strong continuing growth in the labor market portends a faster growing economy in general, making it less likely the interest rate cut(s) they'd half-expected to come from Ben Bernanke later this year become less likely.

Humbugs.

It's still happy and surprisingly good news and we should all take a moment out of our day to bow at the altar of supply side economics.  Auteur!  Auteur!