The good news is the January jobs report came in much stronger than the forecast of 150k jobs predicted by most analysts. The US Economy added 240k jobs for the month of January, and this jobs report does follow the 200k jobs added in December. The unemployment rate stood at 8.8% before two consecutive months of job growth brought down the unemployment rate to 8.5% in December and 8.3% in January. The fifth straight monthly decline and the second straight month of job gains over 200k. The good news is a sign the unemployment juggernaut beginning to feel the impacts of the recovery. The juggernaut turnaround may be short lived after a 15% increase in gas prices have made $5 gas a possibility, and Gallup has reported a mid-month increase in the unemployment rate for the month of February. The gains in employment may become a wash in the recent increase in gas prices. The wash in gas prices is making February 2012 the highest gas price level for the month of February. … [Read more...]