It is a sign of how desperate investors are for good news on the economy that they would take this weak jobs report for August as a good sign.

Overall, payrolls dropped "only" 54,000 - less than expected. That includes the loss of 114,000 census jobs. Non farm payroll jumped by 67,000 - about half of what is needed every month to employ those entering the job market. Also, numbers for June and July were revised upward.

Reuters:

The decline in payrolls was about half as large as expected. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast overall employment falling 100,000 and private-sector hiring increasing 41,000.

The smaller-than-expected job losses last month could assuage fears the economy is sliding back into recession and ease pressure on the Fed -- the U.S. central bank -- to launch a fresh round of bond buying to keep borrowing costs low.

However, the report will do little to help the Democratic Party in November's crucial mid-term elections.

Concerns of a double-dip recession had already diminished somewhat this week as data showed strength in manufacturing and gains in consumer spending but the sluggish pace of growth has kept investors on edge.

The unemployment rate edged up to 9.6 percent last month, in line with market expectations. The rise in the jobless rate reflected an increase in the labor force as some discouraged workers resumed the hunt for jobs.

I found it fascinating that the actual unemployment number did not appear in this article until the 10th paragraph. I guess they had to get all that "good news" about our anemic economy out of the way before they laid the downer on us.