Lowest Yield on Treasuries in History

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  The chart below of the 10-year Treasury yield (the rate on which mortgages are based) is at it's lowest point in recorded history and could move even lower in the coming months.  Unprecedented in terms of our history.


Click on picture for larger image.

Real Average Hourly Earnings

Although the economy may be slowly improving, the reason it probably doesn't feel that way to most people is because real average hourly earnings (earnings factoring for inflation) have declined since 2009 while average hours per week worked has risen over the same time period.  Companies are paying workers less on average and asking them to work more hours.  Unfortunately this is not what we want to see at this point in an economic recovery.

 

Employment Report Update

The graph below shows the job losses from the start of the employment recession, in percentage terms.  The red line represents the current recession. The zero on the X axis shows maximum job losses and each recession is aligned at this maximum point.

As you can see in the chart, all of he post WWII recessions show strong employment growth in the months immediately following the peak unemployment percentage (zero point), except for the most recent recession.  Although we are headed in the right direction, we still have a way to go to get back the jobs that were lost. 

In the most recent report from the Labor Department, the US created 88,000 jobs in the month of March, far less than was expected and the lowest reading in a year.  After such a strong number in February, this comes as a bit of a surprise to many.  This decrease indicates there was a slowdown in hiring although it may be a temporary phenomenon.