You've probably already heard, but just in case, the U.S. officially added 321,000 new jobs in November, at least according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's the best job-growth number we've seen since January of 2012. Yet, amazingly enough, the unemployment rate didn't budge from 5.8%. What gives? Meaning, if jobs are so darn plentiful, why can't we move the dial on the unemployment rate? As is usually the case, there's more to the story you didn't read in the headlines (or even get to read at all). So, as is also usually the case, we'll be the ones to tell you the rest of the story. We'll warn you right now, though, you're probably going to be a little less enthused after hearing all the numbers. First and foremost, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported on Friday there were 147.287 million employed people in the U.S. as of the end of last month, up only 4000 from October's reading of 147.283 million. So where'd the 321,000 figure come from? The "new payrolls" figure isn't calculated using the same data/method as the size of the working labor force. It's something to keep in mind in the future. It gets more..... um, let's say interesting, though. While the number of employed people was technically up, the number of people who are officially unemployed also went up, from October's 8.995 million to 9.11 million last month. That's an increase of 115,000 in the headcount of people who lost and/or can't find a job. In that light, one has to wonder why the unemployment rate didn't actually tick higher last month. The reason is, once again, the way all these numbers are calculated. For whatever reason, the size of the labor pool (whether its members are working or not) grew by 119,000 in November, from 156.278 million to 156.397 million. Since the unemployment rate is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed people by the number of eligible workers, since both went up by about the same amount, the unemployment rate of 5.8% didn't budge. Make no mistake though... that increase of 321,000 new jobs overstates the actual health of the labor market. Perhaps the most troubling figure in all of these numbers is the one you hear touted the least - the number of individuals who aren't even counted in the labor force total but DO want jobs. That figure grew by 8000 last month, to 6.545 million. We were looking at only 6.259 million of these people in June. Why has the number of people not in the labor force but wanting a job grown by nearly 400,000 in just four months? Because there's just enough hope out there to let people think there might be a job out there for them, but not enough actual economic strength to put them to work. Now I'm not trying to throw a wet blanket on the encouraging news, nor am I saying we've all been bamboozled by the government. I'm just saying the headline numbers paint a rosier picture than should be painted. In most ways that's a good thing for us, however, as it means the Fed's going to remain dovish for longer than we might have been expecting them to. If you really want to know when the employment situation is strong, you only have to look at inflation levels. Firm employment spurs greater demand for goods and services. I have no idea why the Federal Reserve hasn't figured this out, yet Yellen and her buddies continue to be befuddled by tepid inflation rates. Participation rates will also start to move higher in a meaningful way when the employment picture starts to hum. Just thought you should know. Up 18% and Counting Did everyone scoop up some CES Synergies (CESX) back on November 4th when we introduced it to you? We hope so. If you did, you'd be up somewhere around 18% on that trade right now. That's a heck of a lot better than the overall market's gain of 3.4% for the same timeframe. However, I can't help but wonder if there's some more near-term upside left to enjoy here. I'm pretty certain there's long-term upside in store, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm just saying the shape of the short-term chart looks like it's still accelerating. Take a look. After a wash-n-rinse day back on November 11th - when a low of $0.07 was hit - it's been nothing buy buying, and buying on rising volume, no less. I'd be willing to bet that dip from mid-November sloughed off any overhang for the stock and really unleashed the hounds, so to speak. On the other hand, I can't say I'm surprised it happened. This small cap stock acts like a large cap stock in many ways, one of which is that it's a profitable company, and another of which is that the company's been in operation for years now. It's not going anywhere. If you happened to miss our initial unveiling of CES Synergies, here's the first look, which sets the stage. Honestly though, the really exciting developments happened in the meantime. Bryan Murphy took a look at October's construction data yesterday, which subtly suggested the winds of fortune are starting to blow in CES Synergies' direction again. I think if you read just those two write-ups you'll know all you need to know about CESX, and you'll know why it's one of our favorites heading into 2015. Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place Yes, I think the market is just yankin' your chain here, teasing you with a new high today, only to let the S&P 500 peel back and close at 2075.37... right on top of the proverbial Mason-Dixon line for the index. What a trip. Take a look. There are two ways to interpret this move into a sideways, consolidation phase for stocks here. They're diametrical opposites too. The bulls see this pause as a calm before the storm, giving traders and stocks themselves a chance to catch up with the leaders of this charge, only to unleash the next buying salvo once everything has reconvened between 2052 and 2075. The bears interpret this as more of the same, smooth, rollover action where the failure to hold onto new highs is a subtle hint that nobody really wants to stick their neck out here, and are more apt to take profits when given the opportunity. To answer the next question, I'm still closer to being in the bearish camp than not. I don't see a major crash on the horizon, but I still see a dip, just to cool things off for a few days so we can finish the year on a bullish note. Traders have a subconscious way of knowing how to set up what they think is supposed to happen. You'll also recall I'm not a big fan of a market that's sporting a trailing P/E near 18.0. There's a huge flipside to this argument, however, and one I'm not ashamed to confess has me second-guessing myself. It's the chart of the Russell 2000. The Russell 2000 was up 0.8% today, and the NASDAQ was up 0.24% (versus the S&P 500's gain of only 0.17%). It matters because the Russell and the NASDAQ lead the market. Regardless of the size of today's gain though, I'd like the shape of the Russell 2000 chart anyway. It just says the bulls are testing the waters here. I don't know why they're not also testing the waters for the S&P 500. For what it's worth, however, the Russell 200 is still nowhere near new highs... meaning we can't read too much into this recent strength. The Russell 2000 needs to hurdle the 1191 mark to truly impress me. If we do get that move above 1191, we'll need to start talking about upside targets. Again, neither theory really matters until the S&P 500 snaps itself out of this 2052/2076 rut and the Russell pushed above 1191. We're in trading purgatory in the meantime. You know what though? It's not going to matter again until Monday. We'll be back in the saddle then. Hey, by the way, if you haven't yet signed up for the Elite Opportunity's free stock picks (delivered by text alert and/or e-mail), you missed another good trading idea today. It's a $1.1 billion healthcare name poised to grow profits by 13% this year and by 16% next year. Frankly, I'm shocked you can still get this stock at its current price. I can't tell you what this pick is, but I can tell you how to not miss the next great trading idea from John Monroe and his crew.... sign up for the Elite Opportunity's free alerts! Here's how, or cut and paste this link: https://www.smallcapnetwork.com/pages/SCNEOL/v1/.