The weekly jobless claims data is out and we have a second week of coming below that 600,000 mark. The new figure is down 47,000 to a level of 522,000. The reading of 565,000 originally reported last week was revised higher by 4,000 jobs to 569,000. Bloomberg had a consensus estimate of 535,000.
That makes two weeks of better-than-expected data. More importantly, there was a monster drop in the army of continuing jobless claims. Those taking repeat benefits dropped down by 642,000 to 6,273,000. That is the lowest reading in about 3 months.
The trick here is in determining if this is just the seasonal adjusted trends or if this is more of the green shoots or continued less-bad trends. Many traders do not believe these to be a clear sign that the jobs market is improving. We would also make the note again that jobless figures have to fall sharply under that 500,000 figure to stop the growth of the unemployment rate.
Jon C. Ogg
July 16, 2009
Is Your Money Earning the Best Possible Rate? (Sponsor)
Let’s face it: If your money is just sitting in a checking account, you’re losing value every single day. With most checking accounts offering little to no interest, the cash you worked so hard to save is gradually being eroded by inflation.
However, by moving that money into a high-yield savings account, you can put your cash to work, growing steadily with little to no effort on your part. In just a few clicks, you can set up a high-yield savings account and start earning interest immediately.
There are plenty of reputable banks and online platforms that offer competitive rates, and many of them come with zero fees and no minimum balance requirements. Click here to see if you’re earning the best possible rate on your money!
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
