Initial and Continuing Jobless Claims Decline by 12,000 and 6,000

As a backdrop for tomorrow’s big employment report, today the government released its accounting of initial and continuing claims, coming in down 12,000 and 6,000 respectively. On a four week moving average, the Department of Labor’s seasonally adjusted initial claims increased by 250, while the newly released continuing claims figures decreased the four week moving average by 3,500. The general indifference of market participants to the initial and continuing claims figures over the past six months is largely the result of the claims figures’ uncertainty over the direction of economic activity – the measures have been largely flat over the past six months, with no leading indication of where the economy is heading. With this background in mind,...