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"The best economist is an active market participant: one who practices what he preaches."  David Brady is a bond portfolio and currency risk manager who has spent several years working in the financial sector, both in Europe and the States.  "Awareness of the state of the economy should be the starting point for any investment decision.  Analyze economic statistics and judge for yourself what is happening in the U.S. economy today and tomorrow."

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Employment PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, 20 January 2009

Non-Farm Payrolls

Non-Farm Payrolls show the change in the number of people working in all areas of the economy except farming and are the key measure of employment. The data is collected from nearly 300,000 business establishments.

Market Effect: Strong
Indicator of Economic Conditions: Strong

Unemployment Rate

The Unemployment Rate is based on a household survey covering about 110,000 people, and is the much less significant as an indicator and to the market relative to non-farm payrolls.

Market Effect: Weak
Indicator of Economic Conditions: Moderate

Jobless Claims

Weekly Initial Jobless Claims data show the amount of people who have put in claims for unemployment benefits and is a good representation of the current state of the labor market, a major factor in consumer spending plans.

Market Effect: Weak (Moderate at Extremes)
Indicator of Economic Conditions: Strong