Friday, March 30, 2012
Jobless claims fall to four-year low
The number of people filing for unemployment fell to a 4-year low last week. The four-week moving average (considered to be a measure of health of the overall market by economists) also fell to a four-year low. The Labor Department has estimated a net gain of almost 250,000 jobs over the past three months, while the unemployment rate has fallen to 8.3%. Even 42% of the CEOs from the Business Roundtable said they expect to hire workers in the next six months. Ben Bernanke still cautions that while there has been improvement in the labor market, it hasn't been matched by growth in the overall economy.
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4 comments:
I really like the part that CEOs expect to hire workers in the 6 months. That lines up perfectly with our graduation and eventual job search. I think it says more than the initial jobless claims statistic. Now it is a matter of finding those jobs in the market.
Even though this article brings up many positive statistics and gives us hope to find a job, I think it is also advantageous for the economy to be very cautious, like Bernanke states. In addition to the unemployment rate, it may also be beneficial to look at the inflation rate, growth rate, and consumer confidence to have a real understanding of the economy and what it holds in the future. Many of these rates can have an effect on each other and the economy, which is why it is so important to not go gung ho when just one rate is improving. I think it would be beneficial to be cautious right now while unemployment is improving, so that we have some room for faults or drops in the economy.
When analyzing unemployment, one should consider that before 2008 plenty of soon to be retirees decided they couldn't retire due the lost investments in their 401K. As the economy improves, these individuals will retire and enable college students to fill the gaps.
The decrease in unemployment is awesome, and it is great that CEOs say they plan on hiring more people. Yet, I believe with the instability of our economy in recent years we should be hesitant to believe this trend will continue. I hope CEOs are honest in their comments, yet our economy needs to continue to improve and stabilize for these statistics to be completely valid for the future.
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