Futures Surge as Jobs Report Crushes Expectations With 171,000 Jobs

     It is what it is. There will be those who try to spin this different ways. Some will claim that these numbers don't matter at least for Tuesday's election. However, how many of those people would have been saying that if it were 71,000 new jobs.

     I see Mort Zuckerman on Bloomberg News milking his high profile on this morning's show-why is he been giving such a microphone?-to belabor how this is been "a very weak recovery." Yet after the numbers came out he tried to claim that it's "not bad news for Romney." Would 71,000 jobs have been good news for him? If so, he's a hypocrite.

    I don't know exactly how much these numbers will help the President-but they sure won't hurt him. And who knows-it may well help him.

   Overall, it's clear that things are improving and more Americans are feeling better about the economy. Gallup's numbers on unemployment are also very upbeat.

   http://www.gallup.com/poll/158483/unadjusted-unemployment-down-october.aspx

   "American job creation improved in October with 171,000 new jobs but the unemployment rate moved higher to 7.9 percent, setting the stage for a final push to the finish line in the heated presidential campaign."

    "Economists had been expecting the report to show a net of 125,000 new jobs and a steadying of the unemployment rate at 7.8 percent. Nomura Securities predicted the rate would fall to 7.7 percent, but most expected no change."

     "Most of the job creation came in the services sector, with a gain of 150,000, while government employment rolls saw a collective decrease of 13,000, according to the report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics."

     "A broader measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those employed part-time who would rather work full-time ticked lower to 14.6 percent."

     "The labor force participation rate, a key metric that measures those working and looking for jobs, edged higher to 63.8 percent after wallowing around 31-year lows for the past several months. The total level of employment jumped by 410,000."

     "Unemployment for blacks showed the highest increase in the survey, surging to 14.3 percent from 13.4 percent."

      http://www.cnbc.com/id/49657529

      Overall, it's not the absolute numbers but the direction. The direction is clearly positive as today's numbers certainly underscored.