Patrick Fearon
Patrick Fearon
companies current force happy keeping level looks lose relatively seem stingy work workers
This level still looks like companies are happy with their current work force, and they are being relatively stingy about keeping their workers -- they don't seem to want to lose too many.
benefit bit companies competition economy helped increase level quite reaping stronger technology
Companies are reaping the benefit of enhancements in technology discovery, which has helped them increase their productivity. At the same time, there is a level of competition in the economy that is quite a bit stronger than it has been in the past.
definitely level looking modest previous remain revision
We did have a modest upward revision in the previous week's claims, but we remain under the psychologically important 400,000 level and that's definitely something that we've been looking for.
certainly gasoline resulting spike weigh
There is certainly more going on than just hurricanes and a resulting spike in gasoline prices, ... could weigh on people's attitudes.
claims expected initial job range solid within
Initial claims were significantly better than the expected 300,000, and they were well within the range we would expect in a solid job market.
demand expect high numbers period quite range within
The numbers are still quite healthy, they're still well within the range you would expect in a period of high demand for labor.
albeit consumer continuing economic fact good growth labor market momentum positive reflects sign start year
It's a good sign that the consumer has some momentum going into the start of the year and that probably reflects the fact that the labor market is continuing to improve, albeit modestly. It's a positive for economic growth this year.
certainly growth key lower rate
It's certainly lower than expectations so in that sense it was a disappointment, but the key thing is that this is still appreciably better as a growth rate than the long-term average, which is only about 3 percent,
certainly conspiracy eat economists gods seems words
It seems like this is a conspiracy by the gods to make us economists eat our words when we said manufacturing was back on its feet. It's certainly a disappointing number.
additional boost disruption further gasoline helped looks potential prices
It looks like the potential disruption has helped to further boost gasoline prices and that could be some additional headwind for the economy.
housing impact january jump looks starts trend warm weather
It looks like warm weather had a big impact so the big jump in January housing starts can be attributed to that. However, the moderating trend in housing really is still in place.
despite february indicator might quite report strong
So despite the indicator today, the report for February might not be quite as strong as this is suggesting.
believers finally labor market people starting
The labor market has been strengthening for a while, but it may be that people are finally starting to become believers in it.
claims consistent darn drop economic good healthy level number range
The drop in jobless claims is a darn good number. A number in the range of 325,000 to 350,000 is a level that is more consistent with healthy economic growth,