This is a better-than-expected report, but not one that gives you full confidence that this is an economy ready to spring ahead.

It's a big puzzle. If this is a knowledge economy, how come the brains aren't being compensated? Instead, the owners of physical capital are getting the rewards.

Any attempt to forecast what skills will be needed 10 years from now is just folly. If 10 years ago someone told you financial analysts were a job that was going to be exposed to intense global competition, a lot of people probably would not believe it but that definitely seems to be a possibility today.

You can't read this [GDP] report and expect it to translate into a good report tomorrow. Employment is a lagging indicator, so it will be at least two quarters, or maybe even four quarters, before better growth numbers translate into better jobs numbers.

I don't think it's a fait accompli that it's going to make the middle class poor in the United States. But I do think it's a useful warning that this is going to be tough for a large swath of workers in the United States, if managed poorly.

If it's not a big story yet, it could become one.