Jobless Claims Fall to Pandemic Low

Congress appears to be moving closer to some sort of stimulus deal before the end of the year. Prior to the election, no one was willing to compromise. Now they are. A group of partisan lawmakers put forward plans for a $908 billion plan which could serve as a starting point in negotiations.

The S&P 500 is up a little bit this afternoon. Earlier today, the initial jobless claims report came in at 712,000. That’s a pandemic low and it was well below estimates of 780,000.

That marked a decrease from the upwardly revised level of 787,000 a week earlier, a drop likely aided by counting issues associated with the Thanksgiving holiday.

The jobs market has demonstrated resilience even in the face of the new wave of Covid-19 cases. Claims are off their peak of 6.9 million in late March but remain well above the pre-pandemic record.

Continuing claims also fell sharply, dropping 569,000 to 5.52 million.

Tomorrow will be the real test when we get the jobs report. The Buy List is at a new high today although in the Buy List only Disney (DIS) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) are at new highs.

Posted by on December 3rd, 2020 at 2:59 pm


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.