VitalAccurateThinking

Bad News: Unemployment claims drop

More bad news on the economic front: Unemployment claims drop to lowest level in 2 months:

"The unemployment rate held steady at 4.5 percent in June as businesses added 132,000 workers. Economists have been surprised that the labor market has held up as well as it has in the face of a yearlong economic slowdown that pushed overall growth down to a lackluster 0.7 percent in the first three months of the year, the poorest showing in more than four years."

I guess that is good news, not bad. There just has to be bad news buried in there somewhere. Oh here it is:

Analysts said the slowing pace of layoffs provided further evidence that the labor market has so far been able to withstand the serious slump in housing.

The [slowing economy] could send unemployment edging up. The Federal Reserve, in an economic forecast presented to Congress this week by Chairman Ben Bernanke, forecast that the jobless rate could rise as high as 4.75 percent by the end of this year, still relatively low by historical standards.

Noticing a trend? Me too. All the booming economic news is tempered with a "yeah, but". Unemployment is low, but the housing market is in a serious slump and the economy is projected to slow causing a rise in unemployment.

Nope, no bias here. Move along!

posted by Jim VAT @ 8:31 PM