Looking for a job? Hurry up...

From Dave:

While nonfarm payrolls were basically in line with the consensus, declining 216,000 in August, there were downward revisions of 49,000 and the details were simply awful. The fact that 65% of companies are still in the process of cutting their staff loads is quite disturbing — even manufacturing employment fell 63,000 in August, to its lowest level since April 1941 (!), despite the inventory replenishment in the automotive sector and all the excitement over the recent 50+ print in the ballyhooed ISM index. The fact that temp agency employment is still declining, albeit at a slower pace, alongside the flat workweek and jobless claims stuck at 570,000, are all foreshadowing continued weakness in the labour market ahead. Until we see signs of a sustained turnaround in the jobs market all bets are off over the sustainability of any economic recovery

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Summer(s) in the City...

He wanted Ben Bernanke’s job, but he’s not going to get it.

Reuters:
U.S. President Barack Obama will reappoint Ben Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve on Tuesday, a senior administration official said on Monday.
Bernanke, whose four-year term as head of the U.S. central bank ends on January 31, 2010, will also be praised by Obama for his handling of the financial crisis, the official said.
If Summers was the only other option on the table, then I’m not so disappointed Bernanke is sticking around. That said, I think Fed policy under Bernanke has been terrible.

The Greenspan interventions he supported inflated the largest credit bubble in 80 years; the de-leveraging that needs to happen to correct the damage has been delayed indefinitely by Bernanke’s own interventions. (Rolf Winke)

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