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Jobs

Jobless Claims Leading To Worse Economic & Jobs Prospects

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By Jon C. Ogg Updated Published
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All of the great jobs gains may have peaked if the Labor Department’s report on weekly jobless claims is going to remain static.  While the official figure of claims is down by 2,000 for the last week to 386,000 it is important to understand that the figure rom the prior week was revised up to 388,000 from a preliminary figure of 380,000.  Dow Jones was only expecting some 375,000 in new claims for this last week.

The four-week moving average also rose by 5,500 up to a seasonally adjusted figure of 374,750.  That is the highest reading in almost three-months.

Today’s report is on the heels of a poor report from the Labor Department showing that employers only added 120,000 new payrolls in March.

The army of unemployed, measured by the continuing jobless claims with a one-week lag, showed a gain of about 26,000 up to 3,297,000.

The Labor Department’s recent report of 8.2% unemployment is masking the real underlying issue that many workers are opting out of the labor force.  That is not a real gain in employment.  Low rates of 120,000 in new payrolls are not at all going to offer real economic gains at this point.  With jobless claims heading back toward the 400,000 mark, we have to winder what the summer is going to look like.

JON C. OGG

Photo of Jon C. Ogg
About the Author Jon C. Ogg →

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. www.247wallst.com.

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