Best Financial Markets Analysis Article Labor market indicators are sending a mixed message. Today's jobless claims report continues to suggest that the economic recovery is not sufficiently strong to bring about a meaningful reduction in the number of jobless claims. Initial jobless claims rose 26,000 to 436,000 during the week ended November 27.

On a year-to-year basis, seasonally unadjusted initial jobless claims fell 10.3% (see Chart 4). It is important to note that the year-to-year change in initial jobless claims is less negative than recent weekly readings. Year-to-year changes should be increasingly negative as the economy recovers, which is not current situation. Continuing claims, which lag initial jobless claims by one week, moved up 53,000 to 4.27 million and the insured unemployment rate has held at 3.4% for three straight weeks. Unemployment claims under special programs increased 235,332 for the week ended November 13.

At the same time, private sector nonfarm payrolls have advanced in the first ten months of the year, adding 1.11 million jobs. But, the jobless rate has hovered between 9.5% and 9.6% in the last five months. The November employment report is predicted to show a slightly higher unemployment rate (9.7%) and an addition of 150,000 private sector payroll jobs.

Asha Bangalore — Senior Vice President and Economist

http://www.northerntrust.com
Asha Bangalore is Vice President and Economist at The Northern Trust Company, Chicago. Prior to joining the bank in 1994, she was Consultant to savings and loan institutions and commercial banks at Financial & Economic Strategies Corporation, Chicago.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of The Northern Trust Company. The Northern Trust Company does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of information contained herein, such information is subject to change and is not intended to influence your investment decisions.

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in

The Market Oracle is a FREE Financial Markets Forecasting & Analysis web-site.
(c) 2005-2024 MarketOracle.co.uk (Market Oracle Ltd) - Market Oracle Ltd asserts copyright on all articles authored by our editorial team and all comments posted. Any and all information provided within the web-site, is for general information purposes only and Market Oracle Ltd do not warrant the accuracy, timeliness or suitability of any information provided on this site. nor is or shall be deemed to constitute, financial or any other advice or recommendation by us. and are also not meant to be investment advice or solicitation or recommendation to establish market positions. We do not give investment advice and our comments are an expression of opinion only and should not be construed in any manner whatsoever as recommendations to enter into a market position either stock, option, futures contract, bonds, commodity or any other financial instrument at any time. We recommend that independent professional advice is obtained before you make any investment or trading decisions. By using this site you agree to this sites Terms of Use. From time to time we promote or endorse certain products / services that we believe are worthy of your time and attention. In return for that endorsement and only in the cases where you purchase directly though us may we be compensated by the producers of those products.