Happy days are here again (you can tell by the smile!)

Just a few comments:

1. We're in much better shape than we thought we were. The BLS revised the job loss numbers down 79,000 in October and 80,000 in September. The labor market does not seem to have stalled in the third quarter, it kept improving at the pace it began in the spring.

2. Average improvement in the job loss numbers since February = +73,000 per month. If this trend continues, job growth will be +208,000 by February 2010. That would be phenomenal.

3. Several commentators have cautioned that this month's data will be revised, so we can't take it at face value. Yes, revisions are possible. But repeat Bob's mantra: at business cycle turning points, "revisions are in the direction of the inflection." That is, we're more likely to see an upward revision than a downward one.