1,000 jobs created in December.
Let me say that again. 1,000 jobs were created in December. In all of the U.S.
The expectations were 100,000 to 150,000 new jobs for the holiday season.
But no. We came in slightly under those estimates. For a total of 1,000.
Before the market opened, the Labor Department (search) reported that the nation's unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent in December, but that companies added only 1,000 new jobs in an anemic holiday-hiring performance.
Analysts had been expecting a gain of 100,000 to 150,000.
"It's certainly negative for market sentiment," said Edgar Peters, chief investment officer at PanAgora Asset Management. "The 1,000 jobs is like no jobs, and people seem to consider that an important indicator of the recovery."
Although December's unemployment rate was the lowest in 14 months, it reached that level because fewer people were looking for work, the department said. More than 300,000 people gave up their search for jobs and dropped out of the pool of available workers, the department said.
This is just ghastly. Let the administration trumpet the nation's GDP growth, because it just points to one unescapable fact -- someone is making out well in this economy. But it sure ain't the American worker.
And to further add insult to injury, November's job growth of 57,000 was revised downward to 43,000.
And for whatever it's worth, the Euro keeps rising against the dollar. The cause? Market shock at the stunning jobs report.
In case you've forgotten, the country added only 1,000 jobs in December.
The dollar fell to a record low against the euro on Friday following a shockingly weaker than expected report showing U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by only 1,000 jobs in December.
The puny gain was in sharp contrast to the 130,000 new jobs that had been expected. Furthermore, the November report, which initially showed creation of 57,000 jobs, was revised down to show a rise of 43,000.
The unemployment rate, however, fell to 5.7 percent from 5.9 percent in November.
The news triggered a sharp sell-off in the dollar against most key rivals. The greenback had been broadly higher just ahead of the jobs report.
"We certainly expect that this is going to support the (Federal Reserve's) position that rates should remain on hold," said T.J. Marta, currency analyst at Citibank in New York. "This certainly is going to cause a continued weight on the U.S. dollar. It's hard to believe this report."
Damn, damn, damn...