Factory orders rise unexpectedly in October : Economy sheds fewest jobs since 2007

[HughMoran]

WASHINGTON — Orders to U.S. factories unexpectedly rose in October, the sixth gain in the past seven months. It was further evidence that the manufacturing sector is beginning to recover, which will help support the overall economy.

Orders rose 0.6 percent in October, the Commerce Department said Friday, much better than the flat reading that economists had expected. A jump in demand for commercial aircraft and petroleum products led the gain.

Orders for durable goods, items expected to last three years, rose 0.6 percent, unchanged from a preliminary estimate last week. Orders for nondurable goods rose 1.6 percent, propelled by gains in demand for petroleum, chemicals, plastics and food.

Economists are hoping that the fortunes of the manufacturing sector are beginning to rebound after the recession briefly forced two major U.S. automakers — General Motors and Chrysler LLC — into bankruptcy protection earlier this year.

...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jMcXvgNEm300w7TMydqu8xE-CnewD9CCIDDO0

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WASHINGTON - The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 10 percent in November as employers cut the smallest number of jobs since the recession began. The better-than-expected job figures are a rare note of encouraging news for the labor market.

Still, the respite may be temporary. Many economists expect the unemployment rate to climb into next year as the economy struggles to generate enough jobs for the 15.4 million people out of work.

The U.S. economy shed 11,000 jobs last month, an improvement from October's revised total of 111,000, the Labor Department said Friday. That's much better than the 130,000 Wall Street economists expected.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34272155/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

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Some occasional good news doesn't hurt. :)

[dmallind]

1. I'm sure we'll soon have people frantically trying to say why this is bad news too

Apparently it should be impossible for factory orders to go up because we(the world's biggest manufacturer by far) "don't make anything any more".

[ClarkUSA]

4. Best jobs report since 2007. The unemployment rate also ticked down to 10% instead of up.

"But we've still got a long way to go." ~ Pres. Obama now on CSPAN, MSNBC, and CNN on his Economy and Jobs Tour in Allentown, PA.

[dmallind]

6. Sounds about right to me.

[rockymountaindem]

2. Fantastic n/t

[ClarkUSA]

3. Next year should have job growth. Have there been any unrecs for this good news yet?

Is the Pope Catholic? Are sour grapes bitter? ;)

[Peacetrain]

5. We are headed in the right direction with gas in the tank... K&R

\At least we are all in the car and going.. Its a long way to full job recovery,but honestly this is such good news after 23 months of straight job loss.. :hi:

[Hamlette]

7. Agreed. Our state unemployment office saw a drop in new claims in November

we spent some time yesterday arguing over how much of it was due to the short month (only 15 working days in November because we're closed on Fridays.) Since we're working 12 hour days and open 12 hours a day, 4 days a week, I don't think much was due to the short month. At least I have my fingers crossed.

I work at the last level appeal for unemployment claims. We are at double the number of appeals in our worst year ever (2008) and will shortly (this week or next) be at triple our normal load. If there is anyone out there who thinks state employees are lazy, fuck you :) We added a new attorney in October but up until then we've been doing it at previous staffing levels. I don't mean to complain although after 2 years of this we're all pretty tired. The thing that keeps us going is that we are grateful that we have jobs. Spending your day listening to horror stories about people who have lost their jobs makes it easier to appreciate just having a job.

[Kdillard]

8. Great news. Hope next year's reports are even better.

[Beetwasher]

9. And There WILL Be A JOBS BILL Early Next Year (Stimulus II)

That should really kick the recovery into gear, just in time for the mid-terms.

[HughMoran]

10. Love the chosen terminology for the 2nd stimulus

Kind of hard to be against jobs.

[Clio the Leo]

11. More good news! NT