Fewest Jobless Claims in 42 Years

Wall Street is reconciling itself to the fact that there probably won’t be an interest rates hike this year. So far, the market is relieved.

The major data point in favor of an improving jobs market has been the initial jobless claims report. Today we learned that jobless claims fell by 7,000 to 255,000. That ties the number from July 18 which is the lowest point since 1973.

The weekly jobless claims number tends to bounce around a lot so economists prefer to look at the four-week moving average. That average is also at its lowest level since 1973. Generally speaking, it’s a good sign when jobless claims are running below 300,000.

We also got the inflation report for September, and it showed more deflation. Consumer prices fell 0.2% last month. In other words, by doing nothing, the Fed is actually tightening money. It’s not just about commodities. The core rate for September rose by 0.2%.

Posted by on October 15th, 2015 at 11:15 am


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