New Year, same old labor market deceleration – by New Deal democrat This morning’s JOLTS report for November continued the same trend of labor market deceleration that we have seen since the blazing hot boom of 2021. Job openings declined -62,000 to 8.790 million, the lowest level since March 2021. Actual hires fell sharply, by […]
Construction spending continued to increase in November – by New Deal democrat I’m feeling a little under the weather today, so I am going to keep this brief. Total construction spending rose 0.4% in November, while residential construction rose 1.1%: Keep in mind that these are nominal numbers, affected by the cost of construction materials. […]
Final COVID-19 update for 2023: mainly good news (at least on a comparative basis) – by New Deal democrat Here is the status of the COVID-19 pandemic as of the end of 2023. It’s mainly “good news,” at least on the comparative scale. But as (now) per usual, we are in the midst of the […]
The economic graph of the year for 2023 – by New Deal democrat I’ll put up the final Coronavirus update of the year later today, but before we leave 2023, let me put up the graph that I think explains about 90% of the economic data this past year. And here it is: This was […]
– by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. 2023 has been a year of improvement, and that improvements continued in the final installment, as ever so slowly more and more indicators flip neutral or positive. As usual, clicking over and reading will bring you up to the virtual moment, and […]
Jobless claims end the year on a solidly positive note – by New Deal democrat For our last data of 2023, initial jobless claims remained at a very low level, up 12,000 from one week ago to 218,000. The four week average declined 250 to 212,000. With the usual one week delay, continuing claims rose 14,000 […]
Repeat home sale prices may be easing back into their pre-pandemic YoY range – by New Deal democrat As I forewarned last week, this holiday week is very light on data, so don’t be surprised by me taking some time off. We did get November home prices for repeat sales this morning from both Case […]
More economic news an d this time new single family housing. Completing the housing market picture for November, sales decline bigly, and prices remain down YoY – by New Deal democrat Our final important pre-year end release was also the final item of housing data for the month, new home sales. To reiterate, the […]
It appears there will be no layoffs pre-Christmas and Christmas. After Christmas, the delays in implementing EVs at GM will result in layoffs in Michigan. A holly jolly holiday season for initial jobless claims – by New Deal democrat Initial jobless claims rose 2,000 last week to 205,000, while the four-week average declined -1,500 to […]
In my lingo, existing home sales still down and mortgage rates for new homes still high. Builders are doing what they can do to encourage sales. New Deal democrat gives a clearer view and a hint of an outcome. Read on . . . Existing home sales try to find a bottom, while severe bifurcation […]