Economic Indicators

Jobless claims have dropped to the lowest level since September 2000. Does good economic news translate into a positive perception for the GOP? Not yet anyway.

Comment Response posted @ 11:12 am: This posting is shamefully the first mention of domestic economics. The dollar has fallen against the Euro, but let's remember the state of European economics; traditionally dominant Western markets (specifically France and Germany) have faced persistent unemployment, hovering around 10%. Eastern markets are thriving because of the expansion of the EU Zone (market access) and as the West pulls itself out of malaise, the Euro has strengthened. Japan has finally conquered their recessionary economic demons and will continue to expand as Asian markets expand. I will briefly note here that a falling dollar does have benefits (as well as pitfalls); namely in exports. The American market has proven exceedingly resilient; homeownership is expanding and is already at record levels. More than 4.2 million new jobs were created in the past 28 months. The unemployment rate fell in December to 4.9%, lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. I can not find GDP numbers for the last five years, but growth has been (at least) steady while outperforming most other industrialized nations. The last quarter of 2005 saw growth of 4.3%.