Economic Indicators

There's been a lot of talk about how to interpret all the economic releases that come out during the course of the week. Some looks promising, some not so much and some looks and good and bad depending on what kind of spin you put on.

The unemployment data that came out is bad. There is no way to put a good spin on it. None. In fact, I think the real unemployment rate is much higher. The current calculation does not include people who have stopped looking for work. Some argue that the actual rate is closer to two times larger than the headline rate of 8.6%.

I think it's difficult to come up a real number, but it is going to be higher than the headline rate for sure. I don't think the economy will turn around until we see these numbers decrease. The US job destruction is just massive and it will take time for job creation to ramp up.