I commented earlier that the ADP hiring data hasn’t been reflected in Government stats. Wow, was that an understatement. The ADP report said the economy created 189,000 jobs last month; Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that 30,100 net jobs were created. To be fair, these two stats aren’t quite comparable, but the expectations were for a much better number. The number was so bad that everyone ignored it…including investors…citing weather and other factors.
S&P 500 was up 0.25%. The jobs information also paints a painful long-term picture. David Stockton (former Budget Director with the Clinton Administration) was a guest on CNBC and he said that the economy now has 1/2–million fewer jobs than it did in January 2000. (This data was presented by the Economic Policy Institute.)
This just reminds us why Bear markets can last decades. Let’s hope the current bear market doesn’t last that long. The Navigate the Stock Market computer analysis is still a HOLD.
