A Goldilocks NFP Report

The US economy added 248k jobs for the month of September, the BLS said today. It was way above expectations. Notably, the U6 Underemployment number that everybody harps on is now under 12%, a low not seen since the Lehman Autumn. Also, the headline unemployment rate dropped down to 5.9%. I can’t remember the last time we had a five-handle on that number, it’s like the 90’s again! JK.

Losers will crawl out of their coffins and crypts to whine about the labor force participation rate, but no one cares. Think tank economists want things to get worse so they have some firepower for Fox News and MSNBC tonight. The reality is, the economy is growing as expected – slowly but surely – and there’s nothing “wrong” with today’s release.

This monthly NFP number will be revised numerous times, of course, but don’t let that spoil the fun. The stock market loves this report. Sam Ro at Business Insider went as far as to call it “perfect” for investors.

As of this posting stocks are rallying across the board, especially banks. More later…