January 19th 2012 CNBC Stock Market Squawk Box (Initial Jobless Claims)

1/19/2012 - CNBC Stock Market Squawk Box (Initial Jobless Claims).

A very large weekly drop in initial jobless claims offers a splashy, but not definitive, indication of rising strength in the jobs market. Initial claims fell 50,000 in the January 14 week to 352,000 for the biggest drop since September 2005 when economic expansion was in full gear (prior week revised to 402,000). But weekly data early in the year are often choppy, the result of shortened holiday weeks. The 4-week average, down 3,500, points to less strength with the level of 379,000 not convincingly lower than the mid-December level of 380,750.

Continuing claims likewise show huge improvement, down 215,000 to 3.432 million. Here the 4-week average is down 34,000 to a recovery low of 3.576 million. While declines in initial claims point to an easing in layoffs, declines in continuing claims represent a mix of new hirings and new drop outs from the jobs market. The unemployment rate for insured workers slipped one tenth to 3.2 percent.

Today's report is certain to support the stock market, though questions over holiday factors will likely limit its impact. Yet should this improvement hold in next week's report, expectations for strong monthly employment data would really begin to build.

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