Dow up 0.38% as job market continues to improve

4th of July tomorrow so the US market will be closed. From Bloomie:

"Jobless claims decreased by 5,000 to 343,000 in the week ended June 29 from a revised 348,000 in the prior period that was higher than initially reported, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The Bloomberg survey median called for 345,000 claims. A separate report showed companies in the U.S. boosted employment by 188,000 workers in June, according to Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Research Institute. The median forecast of 38 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an advance of 160,000.

The data come before the government’s monthly labor report on July 5. That report will probably show employers created 165,000 jobs in June, from 175,000 a month earlier, according to the median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey. The unemployment rate probably fell to 7.5 percent, matching April’s four-year low."

“Both the ADP number and initial jobless claims were better than consensus and better than the previous month,” Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia, which manages about $58 billion, said by telephone. “That might signal a better number this Friday on jobs.”

Great news that the US economy continues to create jobs. The May figures showed unemployment at 7.5% so the Fed still has some way to go until the rate hits 6.5% as hoped...

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics