The monthly jobs report came out this morning, and the unemployment rate keeps slipping lower, chipping away at the Covid-shutdown explosion early last year.
![slopechart FR UNRATE](https://slopeofhope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/slopechart_FR_UNRATE-640x336.jpg)
Conversely, the quantity of people working has been inching higher, although we’re still well below where things were in the before-time.
![slopechart FR PAYEMS](https://slopeofhope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/slopechart_FR_PAYEMS-640x336.jpg)
Of course, having a 4.6% unemployment rate isn’t too much to crow about when near 40% of adults aren’t interested in working in the first place.
![slopechart FR CIVPART](https://slopeofhope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/slopechart_FR_CIVPART-640x351.jpg)
All the same, for whatever reason, this report was Yet Another Reason for the equity markets to surge to their daily lifetime highs, which has become a daily ritual. The small caps in particular have exploded this week, making use of all the pent-up energy of being range bound for most of 2021.
![slopechart IWM](https://slopeofhope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/slopechart_IWM-2-640x330.jpg)
The S&P 500, by way of the SPY, has retraced all the way up to the apex of its failed wedge pattern. The past four weeks have been an absolutely unstoppable bull-fest.
![slopechart SPY](https://slopeofhope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/slopechart_SPY-2-640x330.jpg)
I would also point out that the NASDAQ, at lifetime highs (of course), may need to take a serious breather after this latest rally, considering its own position relative to its medium-term trendline.
![slopechart QQQ](https://slopeofhope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/slopechart_QQQ-1-640x330.jpg)