Jobless Claims: Good On Surface But Is The Recovery Slowing?

As with every other Thursday, today brought two new pieces of information to labor market observers – the initial and continuing unemployment claims figures.  On the surface, the Labor Department’s figures paint a pretty rosy picture, with initial claims declining to a near four year low at 343 K and continuing claims dropping to 3.198 million from 4.421 million four years ago.

Should investors be worried about the rosy picture?  Well, probably.

First on the initial claims side, the seasonally adjusted figures decline to 343 K represents the second lowest reading of the year, following...