Housing Consumption Continues down

2/1/2010 Personal consumption of housing related expenses continued to drop in December.

Social Security Total Spike in January

1/29/2010 Total Social Security retirees for January increase compared to December. This is the second highest January change on record. The January 2010 spike was bigger probably because of the big 2009 COLA increase. This year there was no COLA change. This year's January spike probably reflects 1) continued high unemployment and 2) demographic shift (Baby Boomers retiring).

Real Weekly Earnings

1/15/2010 y/y change in weekly Real average earnings continue to slide deeper into negative territory. One reason would be the massive spike in gasoline prices in December.

Biggest Spike Ever

1/9/2010 The total number of Social Security retirees spiked big time in 2009. Probably a big reason why so many people stopped looking for a job last year. Demographics, a high unemployment rate and last year's big increase in the Cost of Living allowance explains the spike.

Port of LA Export Spike Continues in November

12/15/2009 Today's November Port of LA container data showed y/y increase in loaded outbound containers and a y/y drop for loaded in-bound containers. This data may indicate an improvement in US trade balance for 4th quarter.

Jobs For November 2009

12/4/2009 Increased Temporary workers leading increased total hours.

Number of Social Security Retires Spikes Up

11/30/2009 The number of people in the US with Social Security retirement benefits has increased by 1,176,000 from the beginning of the year to 33,453,000 . It's the biggest 11 month increase on record.