Friday, the Department of Labor released the lowest unemployment rate in 6 years at 4.4% unemployment rate, 180,000 new jobs.  The most important number to look at is how fast wages are gaining.  Although we have seen an economic expansion since 2002, it is only in the last 6 months that the wages were gaining faster than inflation.

In the report released on Friday, people are earning an average of 2% wage gains over the increase of inflation.

However, the overall economy is shaky.  The unemployment rate is a late economic indicator of what is actually going on.  To get a grasp on what is currently going on it is better to look at the housing industry and whether businesses are expanding.

Source: NPR, “What’s Up with the Drop in Unemployment?“, Weekend Edition Saturday, April 7, 2007.