First time unemployment claims had their worst performance last week since 2009. Actual, not seasonally adjusted claims were up 7.5% versus the same week last year. That’s outside the normal range. Is it a calendar anomaly? Even though the seasonally adjusted headline number was worse than the consensus expectation, the pundits were sanguine. I’m not so sure they should be, but we won’t know for a few weeks. If this sticks, it’s a clear break of the nearly 5 year trend of improvement, a sudden sign of economic weakness.
http://wallstreetexaminer.com/2013/12/12/econ-chart-update-initial-claims-retail-sales-and-job-openings-all-bad-news/