unemployment

BLS Misses, Unemployment Rate Rises

SPY This morning’s BLS report was a bit of a mixed bag. The headline showed the U.S. adding 157,000 jobs in January, which were roughly 6,000 less jobs than consensus estimates. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% in January from 7.8% in December with no change in the participation rate (it held steady at BLS Misses, Unemployment Rate Rises

Are Unemployment Benefits Excessive?

Jobless claims came in at 369,000, just below expectations of 371,000. This week’s reading was a welcome reduction after last week’s surprise jump. If you look at the average of new claims filed, the pace of firings has been little changed. This seems to indicate that employers are keeping things on the hiring side status Are Unemployment Benefits Excessive?

Unemployment Claims Higher Again

For the past 3 weeks, jobless claims have been creeping higher; they have exceeded estimates for 2 weeks in a row and are now the highest in a month. The most recent reading showed 372,000 new unemployment filings versus expectations of 365,000; the four week moving average, which smooths out this volatile number, also increased Unemployment Claims Higher Again

The Truth Behind Jobs Report Numbers

Jared Levy, Editor, Option Strategies Weekly Tuesday, 02 August 2011   If you are a long-time reader of Smart Investing Daily, you know my predictions on the monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs report are pretty accurate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report is released on the first Friday of every month, and The Truth Behind Jobs Report Numbers

The Jobs Report: Not to Beat a Dead Horse, But …

One of the statistics that bothers me is the drop in the unemployment rate to 9.7%, because it can be misleading. You have to look at the data closely and be careful of the headlines, which may have it at least partially wrong. Here is an inside look at the numbers: