Today's jobs report from the BLS is a dose of much-needed good news.  The unemployment rate dropped again to 4.6 percent.  More importantly, 531,000 new jobs were added (to nonfarm employment).  The graph below shows monthly growth in nonfarm employment in this calendar year.

After robust growth in the summer months, fewer jobs were added in August and September. All of this is closely linked to the spread of COVID, as the Delta variant spread rapidly in August and September, before slowing in October.  

Let's hope that today's announcement regarding the Pfizer COVID-19 pill will lead to even more economic progress over the coming months.