Analysts were caught offside by this morning’s Non-Farm Payroll report indicating that unemployment declined from 9.4 percent in December to to 9.0 percent. Total employment rose by 36,000 which is the slowest rate in four months but winter storms are being blamed as the construction and transportation sectors were forced to scale back operations in December.
“We’re moving in the right direction, though payrolls are still at extremely low levels,†Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS Securities Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut, said before the report. “We’re just digging ourselves out of a real big hole and it’s going to take time.â€
Source: Bloomberg
