Jobless Claims: two different points of view!

South Lake Tahoe, CA Market Statistics

The spin grahpic here… is for the comedy, not for the facts. But lets first review what they are:

We’ve got an unexpected dip last week in the US jobless claims, again (480,000 claims for the week).

But the four-week average for jobless claims, which smooths out fluctuations, fell (467,500 claims on average).

Analysts say initial claims need to fall to about 425,000 for several weeks to signal the economy is beginning to add jobs.

Here’s how this was reported by the Associated Press: (their article)

Headline: "Economic Report Points to a Gradual Recovery."

Subhead: none

This line stands out, however about the report: this is "an encouraging sign that the labor market is gradually improving."

Here’s how MSNBC reported the same information: (their article)

Headline: "Latest Data Points to Slow Recovery in 2010."

Subhead: Jobless claims rise, but 4-week average falls; leading indicators edges up.

This line stands out: "the recovery of the nation’s battered labor market proceeds in fits and starts."

The Bottom Line:

Both reports generally address this statement: ‘Still, employers across the country remain reluctant to ramp up hiring." Until they do, which would mean the US jobs market is on the mend, we will not see consequential growth in our housing industry.

Again as stated above, the magic number seems to be we are poised to see jobless claims at 425,000 or less per week, for some weeks in a row!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 3:42 pm and is filed under For Buyers, For Sellers, Lake Tahoe Real Estate, National real estate news, South Lake Tahoe, CA, Stateline, NV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Richard Bolen REALTOR® 800.923.9022
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