The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment has rose less than expected in the past week. Initial claims for state unemployment did rise, as expected but were expected to increase by much more. This is a good sign that the labor market is heading in the right direction. Unemployment has continued to decrease to its lowest levels since pre 2008 recession. This is a solid indication that the labor market is becoming more stable as the economy improves.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102399974
6 comments:
Because the labor market is returning to normal after the chaotic seasonal job hunters are settling down, this is very good news to hear. While economists are expecting around 290,000 unemployment claims, this is still a very good number and a positive for the still recovering labor market.
This seems to have positive implications for the current economy. Past blog postings have implied the increase of job opportunities which is consistent with these statistics. Overall, the economy is starting to look more positive.
Sam, these numbers are interesting, but they seem pretty consistent with the numbers from the past few months. Do you think that unemployment has arrived at a new equilibrium or natural level of employment, or do you believe that the unemployment rate will go down? I personally feel that the mid-5% level is the new natural rate of unemployment.
Looks like the labor market is catching up with the rest of the economy. Unemployment tends to be a lagging variable, so this trend would suggest the economy is probably even better than these numbers would suggest. There are still some problems with labor force participation, but seeing consumer confidence continue to grow is encouraging considering how much of an impact it has on the economy.
According to the BLS, in January they were more jobs in retail, construction, health care, financial activities, and manufacturing. Therefore more individuals are able to find work keeping the unemployment rate lower than in previous months. This is positive sign. Hopefully the momentum created can continue and allow the economy to grow.
While it is good that the unemployment claims have been decreasing, I wonder if this is not only because of the new jobs that were created in January, or also because of the new unemployment regulations imposed in many states. Many states have changed their requirements and regulations, so that people cannot claim unemployment benefits for as long, meaning they will need to go out and look for jobs.
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