Weekly Jobless Claims Hit Nine Month Low

The figure compares to a revised figure from the prior week of 404,000 (compared to a preliminary figure of 402,000) and it compares to a Bloomberg consensus economist estimate of 395,000.

The four-week average was reported as being down by 3,000 to 393,250; and the army of unemployed measured by the continuing jobless claims (with a one-week lag) was reported as being lower by 174,000 to 3.583 million.

This report may still seem high, but it is finally a move in the right direction even if that unemployment rate of 8.6% in November just because of a “lower labor force participation rate” was a highly doctored figure.  The bias was expected to be another negative one this morning, but this is at least a move in the right direction. A nine month low is hard to argue against even if it is still not exactly a great figure.

JON C. OGG