The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time fell from 12-month highs at 249k to 233k last week…
Source: BloombergThe non-seasonally-adjusted claims data plunged and is basically unchanged over one and two years… 
Source: Bloomberg…as it appears the Texas storm impact is fading…
Source: BloombergWith Michigan and Texas dominating the drop in initial claims…
But, continuing jobless claims rose to 1.875mm Americans – the highest since Nov 2021…
Source: Bloomberg…and smoothing for the week to week noise – the 4-week moving average of initial claims also reached a new cycle high.One key thing to note that we warned about…
One thing to note: the unemployment rate of 4.3% was boosted 0.2% by people on temporary layoff which increased by 249,000. This is mostly due to Hurricane Beryl, so expect the unemp rate to slide back to ~4.1% next month.
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 2, 2024
Is this bad news or good news?
Stocks seem to think ‘good’ news.Imagine what happens next week if CPI is hotter than expected?More By This Author:Cocoa Prices Rise As US Stockpiles In Exchange-Monitored Warehouses Hit Four-Year Low
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