Jobless Claims Drop As Chicago PMI Soars, But Is It Enough?

The big news today is that jobless claims have dropped to its lowest number since July 2008. The U.S. Department of Labor said that

filed claims, down from 422,000 filed the previous week. At the same time, the Chicago PMI (an index that gauges manufacturing activity), has

, coming in at 68.6 – 7.1 points above the expected reading of 61.5. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. While these may sound like encouraging numbers, it's important to note that the impressive jobless claim is for the week ending December 25, 2010. Isn't it possible that a major holiday like Christmas – a time in which people are very busy – could result in fewer claims? And while the Chicago PMI sounds great, there are still thousands of American factories in turmoil. How often is it that we hear of encouraging stories

? If it hadn't been for Clairvoyant Energy and Xtreme Power, Ford's

Wixom Assembly Plant would still be doomed. More frequently, we hear about stories

, in which another U.S. factory closes and additional jobs are sent overseas. And what did we get for the recent auto bailout? If the

, more jobs in China. While it's true that

are still being made in the United States (who knew!?), the addition of 1,800 jobs here and

pale in comparison to the

already incurred. It would be great to peruse these jobless claim numbers and believe that the future is bright. But with so many Americans still dependent on manufacturing jobs – jobs that no longer exist – it might be wiser to take a more realistic look at the situation. The Department of Labor can release all of the statistics it wants, but until individual Americans begin to feel a change, those numbers are useless.