Recovery winter: “In the week ending January 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 352,000, a decrease of 50,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 402,000. The 4-week moving average was 379,000, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 382,500.” The BLS also shows an increase in the workweek, which is a sign of a positive cyclical trend.
These are, to be fair, not great numbers. But they’re okay numbers, numbers that are consistent with an improving labor market situation, and numbers that at least suggest a recovery that accelerating a little bit.
