The last two weeks of unemployment claims data have shown not only the usual seasonal lull in new claims, but also shown a trend downward. We are still far from a healthy employment market. If the current downward trend continues at the current rate, we might expect a healthy employment market, with meaningful jobs growth, by the end of the year. (This is an extrapolation of the current trend in the “Claims Oscillator” on the chart below.) On the other hand, with Congressional stimulus and Federal Reserve credit injections waning, banks still crippled, and few strong growth industries…
