What To Make Of Jobs Report

The numbers are in, and the latest jobs report missed estimates. As reported, the U.S. economy added 151,000 new positions in August, with estimates having called for 175,000–188,000. The unemployment rate — at least the one closely tracked by most people — stands at 4.9 percent.

But as Forbes noted, a broader gauge of unemployment, known as the “U-6 rate,” which includes those out of work, discouraged workers and part-time workers, is at a whopping 9.7 percent of the available pool of U.S. workers.

The conventional investing wisdom holds that this is good news for stocks, because the Federal Reserve will be loathe to raise rates, which means that investors will eschew the bond market and look towards equities instead. That implies that stocks will continue to climb, because investors abhor a vacuum and will find a place to put their money to work.

There’s another group that might find succor in the latest job numbers, as Forbes reported, comprised of entrepreneurs. Those workers who may find it rough sledding against the conventional job market might opt instead to take on the risk (and reward) of owning their own business or buying a franchise. Ostensibly, more entrepreneurs means more job creation via staffing their startups, store fronts or franchised locations, but that pace might be a slow one. And it might not be enough to staunch the impact of rising rates on the economy — after all, with near zero rates (and some observers raising the specter of negative rates), there’s really no way but up.