Yesterday, the national employment report was released. The widely report percentage of unemployed rose to 4.8% up .2% since June. While it is almost always better to have less unemployment, 4.8% is not bad. This will be a closely watched number in the months ahead.

Not so widely reported are two components of the report having to do with the length of the work week and hourly wages paid. Both of these two components increased. This suggests that those with jobs are working longer and getting paid more for that work. Employers seem to be reluctant to add jobs in this environment. This is good for stable housing prices because employed people typically don't default on the loans or go into foreclosure.

Questions remain: How long will this stagnating environment last? Is this the beginning of an even steeper decline?