Jobs Expand by 151,000, Unemployment Steady at 9.6%; Birth-Death Methodology Changes for the Better; Reflections on the Numbers

Today the BLS reported jobs expanded by 151,000. This should not be totally unexpected as I noted last night in Gaming the Jobs Report that TrimTabs called for +95,000, ADP +43,000, and Gallup showed a surge in October hiring.

Moreover, recent ISM surveys were stronger than expected. The important question this morning is whether or not this surge is sustainable. I do not think it is, nor does TrimTabs.