Weak Work

The 148,000 new jobs reported in the delayed September employment report are profoundly disappointing. New jobs have now averaged 143,000 this past quarter, 182,000 in Q2 and 207,000 in Q1. At the current rate, it will take until September 2014, or 68 months, to bring the total employment level back to where it was in January 2008, prior to the onset of the Great Recession. Talk about a jobless recovery!