The news is not good. A double dose, in fact. First up, weekly unemployment claims:
In the week ending Sept. 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 493,000, an increase of 32,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 461,000. It is estimated that the effects of Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana and the effects of Hurricane Ike in Texas added approximately 50,000 claims to the total. The 4-week moving average was 462,500, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week's revised average of 446,500.
Even the 443,000 without the impacts of the hurricanes is a sign of a very weak labor market. As I've noted before, over the past 20 years, claims haven't gotten this high without going higher.
