Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…
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Initial claims for unemployment rose by 12,000 to 465,000 in the week that ended on September 18. Economists had projected that initial claims would come in at 450,000 for the week.
Good news on jobs and deflation this morning
The economic news is giving the stock market all the help it can this morning to break through the top of the four-month-old trading range at 1127 on the Standard & Poor’s 500. New claims for unemployment fell to 451,000 from 478,000. Economists were expecting a much smaller decline to 470,000 for the week.
The private sector adds jobs (yay!) but at a very slow pace (boo!) so no double-dip recession (yay!) but a jobless recovery (boo!)
Today’s jobs report adds up to good news–if you so pessimistic that you were worried about the U.S. economy slipping back into a recession. The private sector is hiring—albeit slowly. Wages are climbing—even if at a snail’s pace.
The economy is growing and this data argues against a double dip recession
The good news on unemployment doesn’t break the disappointing status quo
The drop leaves the unemployment picture essentially unchanged. The initial claims number has been stuck between 450,000 and 500,000 since November 2009 and this week’s figure just continues that trend.
In other words, there’s nothing in this morning’s news to give the stock market much hope or direction.
Unemployment numbers but not much information on the economy
Economists are expecting a mild drop in initial claims for unemployment to 475,000 for the week from 484,000. That kind of drop in the number of people filing new claims for unemployment isn’t indicative of much of anything
It’s a jobless recovery–with the emphasis on jobless
Private employment rose by a meager 71,000 in July. Private payrolls added a 31,000 in June. That makes July an improvement over June but not much of one.
Just like yesterday–if you change black to white and up to down
I expect that today’s U.S. market action will be dominated by anxiety about tomorrow’s official jobs and unemployment report. The government announces those figures at 8:30 tomorrow before the market opens in New York.
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