Market Summary

After being down triple digits on Friday over concerns about European sovereign debt, the equity markets rebounded sharply into the close. As a result, all three major averages were positive on the day, but still faced a losing week. The blue chips rose 10.05, or 0.1 percent, to 10,012.23. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.08, or 0.3 percent, to 1,066.19, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 15.69, or 0.7 percent, to 2,141.12.

For the week, the Dow lost 0.5 percent and is down 713 points, or 6.7 percent, since closing at a 15-month high. The S&P lost 0.7 percent, with the Nasdaq dropping 0.3 percent for the week.

Mixed Data on the Employment Front

This morning, the Labor Department said the U.S. economy lost 20,000 jobs in January, falling short of estimates for job growth of around 5,000. December’s number was revised to a decline of 150,000 jobs from the previously reported 85,000.

In a separate household survey which is used to calculate the nation’s unemployment rate, the unemployment rate in January declined 30 basis points to 9.7%, better than the 10.1% the market had expected. The real unemployment rate, which also includes part-time and discouraged workers, also fell to 16.5% in January after rising to 17.3% in December.

Key indicators that we talked about in the morning outlook also improves, as the average workweek grew to 33.3 hours, from 33.2. That indicates employers are bumping up hours for their workers, a step that usually precedes new hiring.Temporary-help also increased for the fourth consecutive month.

These two reports are extremely conflicting, as the government report showed a net loss of 12,000 private sector jobs, and 8,000 government jobs, while the household survey showed an increase in employment of around 540,000. The household survey does a better job in reflecting small business. Are we starting to see the return of small business hiring? One thing is for sure, a staggering number of people have left the workforce until we start seeing job creation, once they reenter, we will see a bump in the unemployment rate.