With the unemployment rate dipping below 6 percent for the first time since the summer of 2008, and payroll gains of 248,000, September's headline employment data points to a real economic recovery -- with jobs. But last month wasn't so…

The economy added 209,000 jobs last month, slightly fewer than expected, but still making July the sixth straight month to add more than 200,000 jobs, which economists are largely interpreting as a sign of a steady recovery.