NPR: The Nation: Jobs Numbers Are A Pleasant Surprise

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Last week's job numbers were a welcome surprise: 243,000 people were added to payrolls in the past month, which is far more than the 140,000 analysts were predicting. Encouragingly, the gains were broad across came in many sectors: manufacturing, construction, temporary help agencies, accounting firms, restaurants and retailers. It was the biggest job growth since April, and it brought the unemployment rate down to 8.3 percent.

As has been the case since the crash, however, there's a huge "but" here. The economy, while improving, is still in rough shape and the country is suffering from a massive jobs deficit. There are 5.6 million fewer jobs now than in December 2007. There are four job-seekers for every job, and long-term unemployment is still far  too hig h , at over 40 percent.

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