Jobs Data -- Continued Spin

Remember: the magic number is 400,000

Link to the Denver Post.

Weekly applications for U.S. unemployment benefits ticked up slightly last week, the latest sign of stability in the job market. 

The Labor Department said Thursday that applications rose 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000, the most in five weeks. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased 6,750 to 365,750, after falling to a four-year low the previous week.

A department spokesman says all states reported data and none were estimated. In the previous two weeks, many states were estimated because they weren't able to report data over the holidays. 

So, the unemployment number ticks up and this the sound bite: " ... the latest sign of stability in the job market." Okay. Overlooked? The seasonally adjusted number is the largest it's been in five weeks.

And, the four-week average, a less volatile measure, continues to increase, this time up a fairly significant amount, almost 7,000.

And so it goes. I see Morgan Stanley's announcement to cut 1,600 jobs is still a headline story.

Unemployment is a lagging indicator.  The seasonally adjusted number is the largest it's been in five weeks.