The Unemployment Rate Illusion: Europe
The unemployment rate in Europe has dropped from a pandemic peak of 7.7% to 7.3%. While this seems good on the surface, how do things look underneath?
A Year From COVID: Pandemic Insurance
If markets needed a reminder that we still are in a pandemic, they need look no further than the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) scheme.
A Year From COVID: Labor Participation
The more famous labor market indicators, like the unemployment rate, are optimistic. This is corroborated by JOLTS data, but what do other indicators say?
A Year From COVID: JOLTS
Total nonfarm payrolls and jobless claims show a US labor market in nascent recovery, but what do other data points, like JOLTS, have to say?
A Year From COVID: Labor Market Healing
We are about a year on from the worst of 2020’s job losses. As the West reopens again, optimism has surged, making this a good to check on the labor market.
Unemployment Rate Positives In May
While last Friday’s US Jobs Report did not produce a headline number that met expectations, it did record encouraging signs of improvement in the labor market.
US Jobs In April: Dual Disappointment
The US only added 266,000 jobs in April ‘21. The reading fell far short of the market’s expectations, but what else lies behind the headline disappointment?
Where Have Continuing Claims Gone?
Continuing claims have started to fall, even as initial claims remain high. Is the labor market okay now? If not, then where have the continuing claims gone?
JOLTS: When Fiscal Stimulus Helps
Fiscal stimulus isn’t always ineffective. It has helped the Covid jobless pay for essentials, and provided businesses with enough cash to keep employees hired.
The Great US Jobs Haemorrhage
One year on from the first Covid lockdown, the US labor market is still suffering, bleeding jobs at an alarming rate despite trillions in stimulus.
