GOOD JOBS REPORT? – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  The new jobs report, out this morning, is getting raves.  The mainstream media is in ecstasy.  But wait a minute.  What does it really say?  From CNN: 

The U.S. economy added 295,000 jobs in February, which crushed expectations. That beat the estimate from CNNMoney's survey of economists, who predicted 235,000 job gains.

February's job growth shows how far the economy has come in a year. It's the 12th straight month that the economy has gained over 200,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 5.5%.
That's the lowest unemployment rate since May 2008 -- before the financial crisis. Unemployment has come a long way from a year ago when it was 6.7%.

Oh but wait.  A little problem.  Just a little problem:

As more Americans return to work, the question now is when will wages pick up. Average weekly wages only rose 2% in February compared to a year ago. In a healthy economy, wages gains are between 3.5% and 4%. The snail-pace wage gains are a key reason why many folks still aren't feeling off better during this recovery.

Wages are quickly becoming the focal point for the economy's health. The Federal Reserve wants to see better wage growth before it raises its key interest rate, which will have a big impact on the economy and markets.

If job growth continues, wages should speed up too, many economists argue. But February's jobs report told the same tale: excellent job gains in recent months with lackluster wage growth.

COMMENT:  And that's the real issue.  Look inside the "jobs" report and you find that the leader in job creation is the retail sector, which tends to be low-wage.

A country can have a third-world economy and still have 100% unemployment.  The problem right now is that we're replacing high-wage jobs with low-wage or part-time jobs.  Sure, there are more jobs available, if you want to be paid of what you were paid in your last job.

March 6,  2015