The September jobs report was out this morning from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it marked a milestone. The headline unemployment number has dropped to 5.9 percent, the first time we have been below 6 percent since July 2008, when it was at 5.8 percent.
The Fed has long since set its target at 6 percent unemployment to consider raising interest rates. Most Fed-watchers didn't expect us to get there till the end of this year. It will be interesting to see the reaction to this morning's news.
Overall, the economy added 248,000 jobs in September, marking the seventh time in the past eight months that the number has been over 200,000. August's figure was revised upward from 142,000 to 180,000, which is a step in the right direction but still short of that 200K plateau. Overall, the economy has averaged 213,000 new jobs per month over the past year.
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