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  "path": "/2026/05/its-thursday-on-friday.html",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-09T00:04:00.016Z",
  "site": "https://40yrs.blogspot.com",
  "tags": [
    "initial unemployment claims are up slightly but remain low, and continuing claims fell",
    "Initial claims",
    "Continuing claims",
    "actually rather anemic",
    "oil reserves fell off of a cliff in April"
  ],
  "textContent": "So, initial unemployment claims are up slightly but remain low, and continuing claims fell:\n\n> Applications for US unemployment benefits rebounded slightly after falling in the previous week to near the lowest levels in decades, signaling layoffs remain muted despite recent job-cut announcements.\n>\n> Initial claims rose by 10,000 to 200,000 in the week ended May 2, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 205,000 applications.\n>\n> Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, fell to 1.77 million in the previous week, a new two-year low.\n\nAlso, the monthly jobs numbers came out. And notwithstanding claims that it is exceptional, the number is actually rather anemic, with about 115,000 jobs added to the work force.\n\n> The U.S. job market blew past expectations again in April, buoyed by gains across industries including retail, transportation and warehousing, and healthcare. The results were a sign that the labor market remained resilient so far in the face of the Iran war.\n>\n> ### The numbers\n>\n> The American economy added 115,000 jobs in April, the Labor Department said Friday, far exceeding expectations.\n>\n> That was down from a net gain of 185,000 in March. But it was much better than the 55,000 jobs that analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected to see for April.\n>\n> The unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 4.3%, as economists had expected.\n\nNot a bloody clue as to that the f%$# is going on here.\n\nWhat I do know is that we are about 2-4 weeks into when ships stopped at the Strait of Hormuz should have arrived at their destinations and that oil reserves fell off of a cliff in April\n\n> Global oil reserves plunged at a record pace in April, as the conflict in the Middle East strains supplies and raises the risk of a further sharp jump in prices ahead of the summer travel season.\n>\n> Stockpiles of crude fell by nearly 200mn barrels, or 6.6mn barrels a day, estimated S&P Global Energy, even as higher prices triggered a collapse in demand of about 5mn b/d, the sharpest ever fall outside of the Covid-19 pandemic.\n\nThat fall in economic demand is driven by a fall in economic activity.\n\nThings are going to get a lot worse.",
  "title": "It's Thursday ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ (On Friday)",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-09T05:37:41.461Z"
}