It's Thursday ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So we are getting economic data again, and the weekly jobless report has returned, with 220,000 initial claims, down 8,000, but continuing claims rose by 28,000 to 1,974,000, a 4 year high.

We also (finally) have the September jobs report, where we saw decent job growth, but unemployment jumped as well.

On weekly claims data: 

Applications for US unemployment benefits fell last week to 220,000, indicating that employers are largely still holding onto current workers despite economic uncertainty.

Initial claims decreased by 8,000 in the week ended Nov. 15. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 227,000 applications.

Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, reached a new four-year high the previous week after increasing over the past month and half, according to Labor Department data released Thursday that included back data for the missed reports during a 43-day shutdown of the federal government.

As to the September data:

US job growth topped expectations in September but the unemployment rate continued its march higher, underscoring the lingering fragility of the labor market.

The Bureau of Statistic’s latest jobs report, long delayed due to the government shutdown, showed nonfarm payrolls rose 119,000 in the month after declining in August. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, rose to its highest level in nearly four years — reflecting both the positive dynamic of more Americans participating in the workforce and the gloomier reality of more people losing their jobs.

……… 

Job gains were narrow, fueled primarily by hiring in health care and leisure and hospitality. Other sectors, like manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and business services, shed jobs. For many firms, the low-hire, low-fire environment has given way to a rash of layoff announcements, exacerbating Americans’ concerns about their job security. 

I'm calling recession.