Brian Bober

U.S. Economy Mending Faster than Expected

Thanks for cherry picking the good data; I feel better.

Jobless Claims as Percent of Labor Force Fall for 3rd Month in a Row

I think the author is correct, in a second derivative world this is a good signal. However, I agree with my fellow commentators that the currently reported data is not comparable to the 70s or 80s.

"Up until the Clinton administration, a discouraged worker was one who was willing, able and ready to work but had given up looking because there were no jobs to be had. The Clinton administration dismissed to the non-reporting netherworld about five million discouraged workers who had been so categorized for more than a year. As of July 2004, the less-than-a-year discouraged workers total 504,000. Adding in the netherworld takes the unemployment rate up to about 12.5%."

source: www.shadowstats.com/ar...

The Clinton administration didn't do this in secret; so I'm continuously surprised how few media outlets (none?) expend the small effort to make apples to apples comparisons.