The monthly jobs report released Friday by the Labor Department has a margin of error of 100,000. That means even though the government pegs the number of jobs gained in September at 143,000, the true number could be anywhere between 43,000 and 243,000.
This fact is important to keep in mind because it reminds us that one shouldn’t draw any conclusions about the state of the economy from one month of jobs numbers. That said, the report is important for the Federal Reserve as it decides whether or not to raise interest rates, because it emphasizes some worrying long-term trends in the labor market today.
Read Full Article »