Though the official government numbers will come out on Friday, there's some good news for the economy today. First, jobless claims fell last week more than expected and GM posted higher than expected profits for Q1, both tepid signs the economy is not stalling amid fears of the worst.
Claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 27,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 365,000, the biggest weekly drop in claims since last May. This data assuaged the fears of many in the labor market after it was released earlier in the week that private employers in April had created the fewest jobs in 7 months. The government's report on Friday is expected to show a gain of 170,000 private-sector jobs in April, an anemic total but still better than the paltry 120,000 jobs created in March.
While these numbers are good and immediate, there's even more reason to see sustained growth ahead for the economy with General Motor's latest Q1 data released. Their first quarter profits surpassed forecast expectations in large part due to better-than-expected results in Europe and South America. North American demand is up, though it fell short of Wall Street expectations, driving down stock prices. But parts maker Lear Corp. posted higher-than-expected profits for Q1, as did GM's chief automotive rival, Ford Motor Co. signaling that North American demand is strong and should continue to be so. That's good news for automakers, but the faltering European economy could prove to halt the gains the automakers have made.
Still, with this fair unemployment numbers and seeing such strong demand emerge from the U.S. automotive industry is good news for us domestically and will hopefully continue this trend to see America get back to its' pre-Recession levels of growth.
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