It's Jobless Wednesday (On Thursday)

Unemployment Still High I had forgotten that the jobs report would be yesterday because the Juneteenth holiday.

The unemployment numbers improved marginally, but they remain near the high for the year.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, but stayed at levels consistent with a further loss of labor market momentum in June and softening economic activity.

The report from the Labor Department on Wednesday showed widespread layoffs in the prior week, which had boosted claims to an eight-month high. Though some technical factors accounted for the elevation in claims, layoffs have risen this year, with economists saying President Donald Trump's broad tariffs had created a challenging economic environment for businesses.

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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 245,000 for the week ended June 14. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported, lifting claims for that week to the highest since October.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 245,000 claims for the latest week. The report was released a day early because of the Juneteenth National Independence Day holiday on Thursday. 

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The four-week moving average of claims, which strips out seasonal fluctuations from the data, increased 4,750 to 245,500 last week, the highest level since August 2023. But some economists do not view the labor market as having changed much.

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The so-called continuing claims dropped 6,000 to a still-high seasonally adjusted 1.945 million during the week ending June 7. Recently laid-off workers are struggling to find work. 

Yep, still struggling, that's me.

The Fed will be getting its recession 


Reminds me of 2008 Also, it looks like housing is rapidly becoming complete pants:

Higher borrowing costs as the Federal Reserve responded to the heightened economic uncertainty from tariffs by pausing its interest rate cutting cycle have weighed on demand for homes, resulting in excess inventory of unsold houses.

The U.S. central bank on Wednesday kept its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range, where it has been since December. Policymakers in new economic projections sketched a modestly stagflationary picture of the economy. They forecast two rate cuts this year.

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A separate report from the Commerce Department's Census Bureau showed permits for future construction of single-family housing dropped 2.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 898,000 units in May, the lowest level since April 2023.

Higher borrowing costs have sidelined potential buyers, boosting the supply of new single-family homes on the market to levels last seen in late 2007. That has left builders with little incentive to break ground on new housing projects.

An immigration crackdown that has seen raids at construction sites could lead to labor shortages, compounding problems for builders, economists said. 

 This is not going to end well.