On the surface, Friday’s jobs report was a little disappointing, given that the economy added 113,000 jobs – far fewer than forecast. But if the surface wasn’t great, the guts of the report were not too bad.
The unemployment rate fell to 6.6% – the lowest since October 2008, and the labor force participation rate rose to 63%. Put together that’s good news: the jobless rate fell because more people entered the labor force and found jobs, rather than falling because more people dropped out of the labor market.
The market rallied on the news, with stocks rising for a second day to clear up losses for the week.
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