This morning's jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wasn't much more positive than the ones we've seen recently, but it had enough going for it to get some excitement going. The economy added 203,000 jobs in November, crossing that semi-magic 200,000 line. That's up a tick from the 195,000 jobs we've averaged over the prior 12 months.
More importantly, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.0 percent, down from the previous month's figure of 7.3 percent. Outgoing Fed chair Ben Bernanke had noted that he wouldn't begin to taper off the Fed's monthly asset purchasing program until the unemployment rate was down to 7.0 percent, a signal that the economy was strong enough to stand on it own without Fed intervention.
Bernanke will almost surely leave that decision for his likely successor, Janet Yellen, who is slated to take over as Fed chair when Bernanke's term expires on January 31. That's now the date to watch to see if the taper will take effect - and to see how the markets react.
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