October Jobs Report: The Spin Begins!

With October’s labor summary out, pundits and politicos are enjoying their monthly field day of spinning the data. Slate’s Dave Weigel notes that conservatives should be happy to see private-sector jobs increasing (by 80,000) while the public sector shrinks (by 24,000 jobs). But of course, Republicans are seizing the opportunity to pin the lackluster growth on President Obama. Mitt Romney, for example, notes that “October marked the 33rd consecutive month that the unemployment rate has been above 8 percent.” Departing from partisan talking points, Daily Intel’s Dan Amira uses some amusing imagery to describe the recovery: “It’s like a baby crawling its way though a marathon, stopping every so often to take a nap.”