But if you dig deeper into the report you will continue to see a sluggish recovery. Total October and September revisions were down 49,000 jobs. Average hours worked remained flat as well as income growth. Once again the labor participation rate was the driver behind the drop in unemployment as 350,000 people dropped out of the workforce.
Source Data Barron's
| Prior | Prior Revised | Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual | |
| Nonfarm Payrolls - M/M change | 171,000 | 138,000 | 80,000 | 25,000 to 159,000 | 146,000 |
| Unemployment Rate - Level | 7.9 % | 8.0 % | 7.9 % to 8.1 % | 7.7 % | |
| Average Hourly Earnings - M/M change | 0.0 % | 0.2 % | 0.0 % to 0.3 % | 0.2 % | |
| Av Workweek - All Employees | 34.4 hrs | 34.4 hrs | 34.3 hrs to 34.5 hrs | 34.4 hrs | |
| Private Payrolls - M/M change | 184,000 | 189,000 | 95,000 | 50,000 to 160,000 | 147,000 |
According to the Labor Department, Hurricane Sandy had little effect on the November numbers due to the timing of both the October and November surveys and definitions of being employed. For the payroll, survey, for example, being on a company's payroll means you are employed, regardless of whether you received a pay check that pay period.
Once again this week we saw a divergence of returns within the equity benchmarks. The DJIA up, the Russell 2000 and S&P 500 flat, while the NASDAQ finished down 1%. The decline in the NASDAQ shows the power and the influence of Apple which has been eaten alive over the course of the past few months and especially this week (see related posts here and here).
Personally at DWCM and in our personal accounts we have taken our lumps with apple as well over the past few months. However as we posted previously, we are sticking by Apple and continue to see value in the company and see pullbacks as buying opportunities.
As we discussed last week, you can view our updated watchlist here
The Week Ahead
There is a relative light amount of economic data to be released this week compared to last. As is the customary weekly service announcement, most of the market returns for the week will be based upon the fiscal cliff noise.
- Mon - N/A
- Tue - FOMC Meeting Begins, NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
- Wed - Import and Export Prices, FOMC Meeting Announcement, Chairman Press Conference
- Thu - Jobless Claims, Producer Price Index, Retail Sales
- Fri - Consumer Price Index, Industrial Production
Have a great week.
DreamWorks Capital Management
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