Here's the scoop on the Labor Department's weekly initial jobs claims report:
- Associated Press Headline And Lead: "Jobless claims fall unexpectedly as layoffs ease... The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped unexpectedly last week, a sign the job market is healing as the economy slowly recovers."
- Labor Department News Release: click here.
- Key Numbers: "The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 557,155 in the week ending Dec. 26, a decrease of 8,088 from the previous week. There were 717,000 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008."
- My Spreadsheet (click Download 20091231yoy).
Here's my uneducated interpretation - No change from last week. I'm still expecting unemployment to peak around June 2010 with unemployment staying in the high nines and tens for 2010. From this one data series, it appears that the economy is recovering.
MontyHigh, www.worldofwallstreet.us
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