economy

2021 Resolutions

After looking at the US (rising again) and EU case data (a “disaster”), I have my three New Year’s Resolutions for 2021 already:

  • Lose the Covid 19 I put on (too soon?)
  • Uninstall Zoom from my computer
  • Retire this graph

I get the feeling that more people are simply learning to live with COVID, but government officials may have something to say about that.

Increasing cases will be a drag on the recovery. With the stimulus wearing off, the real pain is likely to start in some industries soon.

By Christopher Schwarz, ago

Job Recovery Stalled Out

Initial Jobless Claims were close to 850,000 again today. Here’s how that compares to the rest of the year.

While the number looks great compared to March, this number is till 200,000 higher than ANY week pre-Covid.

The job market may be deteriorating here as we see more permanent job losses and colder weather starts to impact some service businesses again.

Please also note it has been 29 weeks since the first huge surge in claims. Many initials are past 26 weeks (the usual limit) so continuing claims will be less informative about job market health going forward.

By Christopher Schwarz, ago