Is this bad news for the recovery? The Labor Department reported that the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 10.2% in October, pushing the rate atop the 10% mark for the first time in 26 years. Nonfarm payrolls fell by 190,000 in October, bringing the total number of jobs sacrificed to the recession to 7.3 million. October was the 22nd straight month that saw payrolls decline. According to MarketWatch, expectations were for an unemployment rate of 10% and 150,000 jobs lost. Yesterday, I took a look at the weekly jobless claims, suggesting that we could see a substantial drop today if this morning's jobs report came in worse than expected. The report was worse, now let's see if yesterday's "good news" and rally is going to give way to a slump like last Friday.
It is a shame that Thursday's rally may disappear thanks to heightened expectations stemming from yesterday's claims news. Investors were so excited about the data that expectations for today's jobs report were far too high, and the worse-than-expected data could throw a major monkey-wrench in this week's gains.
As for the jobs report, the largest losses were felt in manufacturing, construction and retail. The only jobs added were in health care and temp agencies.
With the unemployment rate topping 10% for the first time since 1983, what can investors look forward to? Check out David Schepp's thoughts here.
Why is gold marching higher? Ask the central bankers
Newspaper ad revenue of 28%, 8 quarters of double-digit drops
Closing Bell: Earnings working against stocks (BCRX, DELL, DHI, INTC, LEAP, PCS)
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