Jobs Numbers MSM Say Might Indicate Recession Crush Expectations

Two days after the U.S. Commerce Department reported an astounding 3.9 percent growth in gross domestic product, the U.S. Labor Department comes in with job data that exceeded analyst’s expectations.

The Labor Department reported a gain of 166,000 jobs in October and an unemployment rate that held steady at 4.7 percent for the second month in a row.

The night before the numbers were released, both the November 1 “NBC Nightly News” and “CBS Evening News” told viewers the possibility of an economic downturn hinged on these numbers.

“[O]n top of that, there are rising concerns about the U.S. economy,” CNBC’s Erin Burnett said on the November 1 “Nightly News.” “Investors are worried about us, American consumers. Energy prices are surging, housing prices are falling, recession is an increasing risk. And Brian, that is why tomorrow morning’s report on how many Americans have jobs will be one of the most important economic headlines in quite some time.”

CBS correspondent Anthony Mason even warned if lower than expected jobs numbers were reported, we would really see how bad the housing woes impacted the U.S. economy.

“[I]t’s a very nervous market, and it could move sharply again tomorrow, Katie, when unemployment numbers come out, and we’ll get a sense of whether they’re infecting –whether housing is infecting the rest of the economy,” Mason said on the November 1 “CBS Evening News.”

But, as it turned out – the job numbers doubled predictions. So with the sound job numbers, does that means the fears of a recession resulting from housing troubles and energy prices are lessened? An initial report from Wall Street suggested as much.

“[E]verybody’s talking about the jobs report,” CNBC Business Reporter Bob Pisani said from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” November 2. “Look, they got what they wanted. Twice the [job number] estimates here. The recession fears fading a little bit.”

But I doubt the fear of recession will be fading from the evening news.