Jobless Claims Point To 80% Chance Of Mitt Romney Victory

As with every other Thursday, this week brought two new pieces of information to labor market observers – the initial and continuing unemployment claims figures.  On a seasonally adjusted basis, initial claims came in at 388 K, an increase of 46K over the prior week, while continuing claims figures came in at 3.252 million, a decrease of 29 K for the week prior. What do the new figures make things look like on a year to date basis?  On a year to date basis, initial claims are about 3%, a steady deceleration from the 12% decline seen in 2011.  When…