Jobless claims are down once again this month, further proof that the economy has rebounded from its COVID-induced stagnation last year, according to Bankrate.com’s Mark Hamrick.
“The economy has come a long way, and as you know… the conversation really has shifted maybe in the last six months to talking about the worker shortage as opposed to what are we going to do with the 22 million people who were out of work in March and April of last year,” Hamrick told Newell Normand on WWL Radio.
Hamrick said, in the state of Louisiana, the change was drastic and for the better.
“In the state of Louisiana in these latest numbers, a pretty big decline,” he said, “meaning obviously fewer people filing [for unemployment], down by 643 to 1,658.”
Of course, with the unemployment woes seemingly in the rear-view mirror, attention has turned to the rise in inflation nationwide. But Hamrick said he believes that tide will turn soon as well.
“I would bet that we’re probably in the process of seeing peak inflation, but that doesn’t mean we may not see heightened inflation for some months to come,” Hamrick said. “And I really don’t think that from a supply-chain standpoint that people are going to have any problem buying their holiday gifts. A lot of people began doing that even before November.”
Hamrick suggested, if shoppers indeed can’t get their “first choice” gifts, there’s always gift certificates to experiences like good restaurants.
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