Initial Jobless Claims Hit 7 Year High

I used to often post about US initial jobless claims when trying to demonstrate why the US was heading for recession. I haven't done so for some time because it is obvious to all and sundry that the US economy is in a deep recession.

In the latest week to November 8th, intial jobless claims rose to 516,000, the highest since September 2001. Continuing claims hit 3.897 million, the highest level since January 1983.

If this recession is going to be as bad as the early 1980's we should expect intial claims to exceed 600k and continuing claims to punch through 4.5 million. KWhilst the employment data is backward looking it pays to keep an eye on the weekly jobless claims number as it is the most current barometer of employment conditions.