Post Tagged with: "Economy"
Initial claims continue to fall
From this past week’s Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report released today: In the week ending Dec. 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 452,000, a decrease of 28,000 from the previous week’s unrevised figure of 480,000. The 4-week moving average was 465,250, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average
Jobless claims rise 7,000 to 480,000
Initial jobless claims for the week ended December 12th came in at a seasonally-adjusted (SA) 480,000, which is a rise of 7,000 from the previous week. This brings the 4-week SA average down to 467,500, the lowest in 15-months. Clearly layoffs have receded. However, hiring has yet to begin in earnest, so the employment situation
Seasonally-adjusted claims below 500,000 for third week
The weekly jobless claims figure came in at 474,000. That is up 17,000 from the previous week. Revisions of the two prior weeks put the net surge at 18,000. The 4-week average is 473,750. All numbers are seasonally-adjusted. This latest data is the highest seasonal adjustment we have seen since the stock market improved and
Japan’s growth embarrassingly revised down by 3.5%
A friend Scott caught this article on Bloomberg about the latest economic figures out of Japan: Japan’s economy expanded less than a third of the pace initially reported in the three months to September as companies slashed spending. Gross domestic product rose at an annual 1.3 percent pace, slower than the 4.8 percent reported in
The drop in unemployment is give back from the prior month
I happen to think we are in (an unsustainable) recovery. And that means that the labour market, while poor is improving. This is why my headline from the latest employment figures was “Unemployment rate recedes as worst of this downturn is over.” Nevertheless, we shouldn’t see the decline as any more than a one-off for
Inventories are now rising
The Census Bureau came out this morning with a report on “Manufacturer’s Shipments, Inventories and Orders” for October. The report was bullish as it showed new orders for manufactured goods rising for the sixth time in seven months. But, more importantly, it also showed that manufacturers are adding inventory which means that production is now
Unemployment rate recedes as worst of this downturn is over
In the past few weeks I have been alarmed about the growing debate about deficits and taxes, so much so that I have moved to a double dip baseline from one of a multi-year recovery. I find it in total disregard of past economic history that we are moving in this direction so quickly. So,
Jobless claims fall to lowest this year
From the U.S. Department of Labor: In the week ending Nov. 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 457,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 462,000. The 4-week moving average was 481,250, a decrease of 14,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 495,500. As I said
Gallup on jobs: South is best, West is worst and deteriorating
Gallup’s monthly economic survey breaks down the employment situation by region in the U.S.. No region is doing great, but the West is doing the worst and the situation is getting worse. Here is what they say: During a week of intense government focus on jobs, punctuated by the president’s jobs summit, the Gallup Job
More bullish data from manufacturing
The latest ISM numbers are in for the U.S., showing that the manufacturing sector expanded for a fourth consecutive month in November. The overall number was weaker in November at 53.6 than last month’s 55.7. But both new orders and production point to more of the same in the next month or two going forward.
Nationwide: UK house prices up for seventh straight month
House prices in Britain rose another 0.5% in November, putting them up 2.7% year-on-year. This is the seventh consecutive month of gains. All of the charts are looking spectacularly good. The only fly in the ointment is employment. Let’s see what the Halifax says in a few days because their numbers have not been as
Unemployment claims lowest in 15 months
Unemployment claims dropped dramatically to 466,000 this past week. This is the best data on the unemployment front we have seen in a long time. The prior week’s claims were also downwardly revised for the first time in a while. These changes brought the widely followed 4-week average down to 496,500, the first time we