Economy

With Unemployment Report, Reality Sets In

Stock quotes in this article:GE, HAL 

An impressive earnings season powered the stock market through October, but the question about whether the strength was caused by conservative forecasts or actual improvement remains. With the addition of these latest jobs numbers, adding to the 22-month sting of losses, it's starting to become confusing as to why the rally started in the first place. Was the market simply tired of losing money or were there actual fundamentals backing the increase?

The latest jobs numbers project bleakness for the economy. The recession may soon be over, based on encouraging gross domestic product figures, but with unemployment at more than 10%, it will be a long time until the economy feels robust again.

-- Reported by David MacDougall in Boston.

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Prior to joining TheStreet.com Ratings, David MacDougall was an analyst at Cambridge Associates, an investment consulting firm, where he worked with private equity and venture capital funds. He graduated cum laude from Northeastern University with a bachelor's degree in finance and is a Level III CFA candidate.

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