It's Thursday ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Unemployment and planned layoffs


Continuing claims and consumer confidence


Falling GDP This week's numbers do not look good.

The spike in initial jobless claims to 240,000 might just be a blip, but the 26,000 increase to 1.919 million continuing claims is a matter for concern.

Also, the drop in GDP is a big f%$#ing deal:

The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits increased more than expected last week and the unemployment rate appeared to have picked up in May, suggesting layoffs were rising as tariffs cloud the economic outlook.

The report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed a surge in applications in Michigan last week, the nation's motor vehicle assembly hub. The number of people collecting unemployment checks in mid-May was the largest in 3-1/2 years. 

……… 

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 240,000 for the week ended May 24, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 claims for the latest week.

They said Trump's aggressive trade policy was making it harder for businesses to plan ahead, a sentiment echoed by a Conference Board survey on Thursday, which showed confidence among chief executive officers plummeting in the second quarter. 

………

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, increased 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.919 million during the week ending May 17, the highest since November 2021, the claims report showed. The elevated so-called continuing claims reflect companies' hesitance to increase headcount. 

Yeah, f%$#ing tell me about it. 

Continuing claims covered the period during which the government surveyed households for May's unemployment rate. They increased between the April and May survey periods, suggesting an uptick in the unemployment rate this month.

"This raises the risk that the unemployment rate could tick up to 4.3% in the May employment report," said Abiel Reinhart, an economist at JP Morgan.

The jobless rate was at 4.2% in April. Many people who have lost their jobs are experiencing long spells of unemployment.

Yeah, f%$#ing tell me about it. 

I'm having so much fun looking for work.