Jobs: The Spin Never Quits

Remember: magic number of initial claims: 400,000

From the AP:

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 374,000 last week, the Labor Department said in a separate report. The four-week average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, fell 1,500 to 385,750.

The AP's analysis: things are "looking up." Wow.

Buried deep in the story:

The unemployment rate is seen steady at 8.2 percent after rising in May for the first time since August.

You have to read really far into the story to get to this:

While the labor market picture is not deteriorating in the face of the growing uncertainty, other parts of economy are slowing significantly.

The pace of growth in the services sector eased in June to its slowest since January 2010 as new orders, including exports fell, a fourth report showed. Employment, however, rose after dipping in May.

The Institute for Supply Management's services index fell to 52.1 last month from 53.7 in May. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector. [I believe there was quite a bit more to this disappointing report.]

Still, the report should be considered "a bit of a relief" after ISM's manufacturing report earlier in the week showed activity in the sector shrank, said Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

As noted, the spin never quits -- "a bit of a relief." Wow. 

The growth in the services sector "eased" [I love that word, "eased"] to the slowest since January, 2010. Link to talking heads on that wrenching data point.