Yesterday, I mused about whether the DIJA would finish the day above or below the 12,000 mark. I pointed to Greece as the reason the index would be up or down. Well, in our crazy market world, Greece did turn out to be the catalyst for the DIJA ending the day above 12,000. Today, I am a bit fuzzy about why the market is doing what it is doing, so, let’s just stick with the plan and point to profit-taking as the catalyst. After all, we had an up day yesterday, so it only makes sense that today would be down. Yes, in this crazy market world, that thinking actually does make sense …
So, it is Friday, and this has been an exceptionally long week. In fact, this past month seemed to drag on beyond the normal thirty days or so. I am tired, no doubt about it. I am mentally tired from constantly thinking, thinking about the world, the market, economies, stocks, bonds, gold, oil, groceries, my dogs, my laundry, and whether to make my bed this morning. Yes, I am tired.
But, like so much of the world, being tired does not mean one stays home from work. Oh, if that were an acceptable reason for turning over in bed and saying, “I think I will blow it off today. I am just too tired.” In reality, no matter our state of tiredness, most of us get up and go to work. So, here I am typing away, doing my job.
In any case, tired or not, the world keeps on trucking, keeps on keeping on, keeps on rolling through the day. And, with that movement comes news of all stripes and colors, but today the news (aside from the G-20 get-together) is about jobs. I came across an interesting observation this morning, an observation I will share in a moment. First, though, I want to set it up by reiterating something I have said before about the breathless wait for the monthly release of government statistics – we should all take a deep breath, sit tight, and wait for the revisions, as they certainly will come. So, in that light, check this out …
In the last two years, it has been common for prior months to be revised upwards. That trend continued. The August figure, previously reported as a gain of 57,000 jobs, was nearly doubled to a gain of 104,000 jobs. The September figure, originally reported as a 103,000 jobs gain was revised sharply higher to a gain of 158,000. In all, BLS discovered 102,000 jobs that it hadn’t noted previously. So far this year, then, the economy has added 1.435 million jobs.
That averages out to about to about 143,000 jobs per month this year so far. Now, when I did the math on this, my tiredness dissipated. My mind perked up. I thought, “OMG, even someone such as me, someone who looks at this stuff day in and day out, had no clue that the actual per-month average of job creation in the U.S. was 143,000 for 2011! Even I have fallen prey to the massive hysteria regarding the health or non-health of the U.S. economy.
I love facts. They bring a sense of order to my life, a sense of certitude about whatever issue they define. Well, here is another fact that perked me up just a bit as well …
Since May 2010, government has cut one million jobs while the private sector has added 2.28 million positions.
I wonder if the U.S. private sector has the capacity to make up for the huge amount of government jobs going away. As always, we will see …
Trade in the day – Invest in your life …
