Unemployment drops to 8.6 from 9%

The good news is the Labor Department reported Friday that the unemployment rate dropped to 8.6% in November, the lowest since March 2009 and a sharp improvement from 9.0% in October.  As you can see from the chart above showing the unemployment rate under President Obama, while unemployment shot up in the first several months of his presidency - before his policies could affect any change - the rate has been dropping.

The bad news is part of this month's drop in the unemployment rate comes from long term unemployed folks who are discouraged from looking and stop. Those people aren't factored into the "unemployed" number.

And employers added only 120,000 jobs in October -- well off the number that economists say is needed just to keep pace with population growth.

But the drop in the unemployment number is at least a good psychological boost to many, who need to feel things are at least moving in the right direction.

I think the important thing isn't one month's report. What needs to happen is America needs to see several months of steady improvement, so that folks can wrap their heads around the idea that things are improving AND small business owners - who we are told over and over need to see something stable before they begin hiring again - get their "stabilization cue" and actual start creating jobs again.

And then, Americans might start feeling better about the economy. Right now, that's not happening.