A better than expected jobs number seemed like a foregone conclusion, so of course December non-farm payrolls came in substantially less than even the most...

A better than expected jobs number seemed like a foregone conclusion, so of course December non-farm payrolls came in substantially less than even the most pessimistic analyst projected. The results once again show why nothing in the world of economics is guaranteed. For instance, this past week we had a much better than expected ADP report and jobless claims number. Nevertheless, the government jobs number showed only 74,000 jobs gained for December - a significant shortfall from the 200,000 median projection. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dropped from 7% to 6.7% as several potential workers chose not to look for jobs over the holidays. Keep in mind, this very low figure could easily see upward revisions later in the month. More importantly, the polar vortex (extreme cold) very likely kept thousands from being able to get to work or look for jobs. (VIEW LINK)