Two weeks ago initial claims were at 450,000, then last week 432,000, and yesterday it was at 434,000.  Actually that looks good, especially when you consider the holiday adjustments.  As I’ve indicated in two previous posts, initial employment job claims are as good as any statistic for understanding the jobs market.  Once again, here’s the interpretive information from Mark Zandi:  Only when claims head down to 400,000 will the economy be creating enough jobs to maintain stable unemployment.  Closer to 350,000 will lower the unemployment rate and mean that the recovery is evolving into an expansion.  When we get to initial weekly unemployment claims of 300,000, boom times are back.
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