Jobs Report is Outstanding for President Obama

President Barack Obama got some good news this morning, as it turns out that the national unemployment rate declined this month, from a high of 10.2 percent, to a new level of 10 percent. This is great for the Obama Administration, which has been hammered by the fact that the unemployment rate has been steadily increasing during his time in office.

This report was not only stellar for the president because of the decline in unemployment. It was also significant because previous job loss numbers for other months were revised by quite a bit.

It turns out that the economy lost only 139,000 jobs in September, rather than the original estimate of 219,000. Also, there were 111,000 jobs lost in October, rather than the previous estimate of 190,000. The stock market surged by nearly 150 points in early morning trading, given that the employment data was far better than economists estimates.

We must remember, however, that over 15 million workers are still unemployed, and 10 percent is still a very high level of unemployment. Additionally, black unemployment remains above 15 percent and is as high as 50 percent for black males in some urban areas. I am curious to see if the "rising tide" argument (that helping the entire economy will also help African Americans) used by President Obama applies to the black community. Even if it does, the employment gap between whites and blacks should never be acceptable. That gap must be closed and there is no excuse for not addressing it.

I predict that a sturdy economic recovery will occur during the fourth quarter of 2009 and into the spring. The fundamental strength of the American economy remains quite consistent and I believe in the economic strength of our country. With the improvement in the economy will come a rise in President Obama's approval ratings. He just has to hold on tight for the ride.