How the S&P 500 Has Responded to Initial Claims

Every Thursday the Labor Department releases its accounting of initial and continuing unemployment insurance claims.  Overall, initial claims continue to hover around bottom, with the most recent seasonally adjusted figure standing at 366K, a decrease of 5,000 over the previous month or an increase of about 13,250 over the average January figures (claims reached their low point in the second week of January). A like story continues to hold for continuing claims, with the most recent reading at 3.224 million, an increase of 8,000 over the adjusted prior week’s count. With initial and continuing claims continuing to hover around bottom,…