Tepid jobs report

The big headline will be 85,000 jobs lost in December, far more than had been expected, but the government revised November's numbers to show a 4,000-job gain rather than an 11,000-job loss. In other words, the nation's economy is still in that choppy stage in between contraction and expansion. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent, a discouraging sign that more folks have given up looking for work. In L.A., the jobless rate for November was 12.4 percent. State and local numbers for December will be released later this month. From the NYT:

Economists are now divided over the nation's prospects. Some place emphasis on recent expansion on the American factory floor, arguing that this presages broader improvements that will continue to gather steam. But skeptics argue that the factory expansion merely reflects a rebuilding of inventories after many businesses slashed stocks during the panic that accompanied the fall of prominent financial institutions such as Lehman Brothers in the fall of 2008. Expansion has also been aided by $787 billion in federal spending aimed at stimulating growth, and by tax credits for home buyers.

Here's the news release from the BLS.