Investors cheer job reports
The stock market opened in high spirits today after the government jobs report released today was much less dismal than expected. The report showed that the number of positions cut in November was the smallest since December 2007. The report was expected to cite job losses of almost 150,000, but in fact, reported only 11,000 lost positions for November. The overall unemployment rate had been expected to hover right around October numbers but in fact dropped to 10%. After hearing the news, stocks rose rapidly, with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining 93 points in the first two hours of the session. Although the jobs report definitely shows signs of recovery, job growth is not anticipated until late 2010.
See "Investors cheer job reports", Alexandra Twin, CNN Money, December 3, 2009