First official jobs report of Q2
Wednesday's ADP private payrolls were below expectations
March was revised down, indicating a softer labor market
Challenger job cuts numbers well above previous month, biggest year over year increase in 10 years
The jobs number came in at 222,000 jobs with unemployment down to 5.4%
The media is spinning the headline number
The picture underneath the jobs report is not as nice
The March downward revision by 41,000 jobs causes one to question whether today's job number will be revised downward given all the negative underlying data
The stock market recognized this; sensing the Fed will remain on pause
Average Hourly Earnings increased only .1%, half expectations
Numbers of Americans who have left the labor force is now at a record high
When employers are changing the nature of the workforce replacing full time workers with part time workers it distorts the net number of jobs
The Household Survey indicates the breakdown of full time vs. part time
The government makes no such distinction
In April we created 437,000 part time jobs - biggest gain in part time employment since last June
The number of full time jobs declined by 252,000 - the biggest drop of the year
The bad news of full time job loss is buried beneath the superficial layer of part time jobs
The demographic breakdown indicates workers 55 and older gained 266,000 jobs in April
Workers 25 - 54 lost 19,000 jobs
This blows a hole in the notion that labor force participation is going down because of retiring baby boomers
Other bad news to hit this quarter's GDP:
Wholesale Trade numbers: inventories expected to rise by .3% but rose by .1% - smallest gain since March of 2013
Wholesale Sales expected to break 3-month losing streak; instead increasing streak to biggest year over year decline since November of 2008
Earlier in the week, Q1 Productivity down 1.9% following 2.1% decline last quarter
Unit Labor Costs rose more than expected +5%
Challenger numbers show a big explosion in layoffs
The reality is that the economy is weakening rapidly
The Fed and the media don't want to acknowledge this because they are afraid of how the market will react
Recent encounter with Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke
Ben Bernanke was a speaker at the SALT conference
I introduced myself to him after his presentation, told him "I am probably your biggest critic."
He responded, "You have a lot of competition."
Later that evening at a cocktail party I approached him and he offered to pose for a photo.
Photo got more views and likes that most other photos on Facebook
I tried to give him a cliff's notes version of my take on the Fed's part in the housing bubble
Bernanke blamed regulations, Fannie & Freddie and the sub-prime mortgages
I said the Fed created the conditions for Sub-Prime mortgages because low interest rates made them affordable
I asked why he did not warn us in advance of the regulations, Fannie & Freddie and the Sub-Prime Mortgage business?
Bernanke originally denied the housing bubble existed
Ben Bernanke had no clue that the Fed's policies created the bubble even after it burst
In hindsight, he lays blame on aspects of the market that he should have identified in advance
I asked him, "how can can you be sure you were right, when interest rates are still at zero and the Fed's balance sheet still hasn't shrunk?
Is there anything that might change your opinion that your decisions were right?
He evaded the answer, but I believe he was sincere about his opinions
Later that evening, people came up to me and commented that they appreciated the views, but that Ben Bernanke was strongly disagreeing with me
Bernanke will not hold the title of worst Fed Chairman because the worst is yet to come when Janet Yellen takes us into QE4