Jobless Rate Dips Below 10%

Peace in our time! Mission accomplished! Unemployment down!

The unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped below 10 percent in January, to 9.7 percent, according to the Labor Department. And stock markets rallied on the news.

A jobless rate below 10 percent is certainly good for morale -- and for real estate. But hold the bubbly: the unemployment figure fell because fewer people are filing for unemployment benefits, not necessarily because lots more people have found jobs.

Look closely and you'll see that the number of unemployed and the number jobs available for them has been treading water in recent weeks -- neither is getting much better or much worse.