Good News/Bad News For Everybody

“New claims for unemployment insurance fell more than expected last week, evidence the job market is slowly healing as the economy recovers.

Still, many private economists and Federal Reserve officials worry the nation could be in for a “jobless recovery” as the unemployment rate rises despite some overall economic growth.

The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped to a seasonally adjusted 502,000 from an upwardly revised 514,000 the previous week. That’s the fewest claims since the week ending Jan. 3, and below economists’ estimates.” http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/nov/12/jobless-claims-fall-more-expected-502k/

However:

“Zero growth may be the new boom for the national and regional economies, at least for 2010, economists John Mitchell and Grant Forsyth said today. Although the economy grew 3.5 percent in the third quarter, both said considerable headwinds remain, and real growth may be a year away.

Forsyth, an Eastern Washington University professor, said the recession exceeded his expectations, and his forecasting models do not show much, if any, turnaround in 2010.” http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/nov/12/economists-see-little-if-any-turnaround-2010/

How worried are you about the state of the economy?