The underlying tone is still weak. |
There are an awful lot of cost pressures in the system. While they may not be manifest in final goods prices just yet, the numbers tell you that, unless companies find new ways to cut their costs, profit margins are going to be squeezed. |
There is no doubt that the street was expecting the worst and they were prepared for the worst. Once the numbers came out a rally ensued and it trickled over to the equity market... The domestic economy is just honey. |
There's a refreshing degree of consistency. The number of new jobs is consistent with the rest of the economic data that shows that the economy is moving along quite strongly. |
This is almost the best of all possible worlds, where labor is making money, and yet corporations have been able to offset that with productivity, and keep it themselves in terms of profits. It reminds everyone of the important contributions technology has been making to increased productivity in tight labor markets. |
This year, retailers probably hired a normal number of people. We'll wind up with a large seasonal factor boosting a normal number, and end up with a large gain in retail help. |
Typically, consumers are waiting for all kinds of deals before they go out and purchase an automobile. They didn't get them in July, so perhaps they're going to wait until maybe August. |
We had a big decline (in September) and I thought maybe there would some small rebound, but we didn't get it. It was orders that improved very dramatically and that is a positive, but the employment component is a bit worrying. |