>This is in times when businesses should be hiring for Christmas shopping
>frenzy. I wonder what will happen afterwards.
Speaking of seasonal adjustment, if you get less hiring than expected in the run-up to Xmas, that appears as a weaker labor market. But less seasonal hiring implies less-than-usual seasonal layoffs in January, which appears as a stronger labor market. That happened with the employment stats last year. The pattern should be more "normal" this year, since retailers were moderately optimistic going into November.
Doug