This Joblessness Thing is So Unpredictable!

O Recovery, Where Art Thou? From CNN Money.com:

The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance rose unexpectedly last week, to the highest level in more than a month, according to government data released Thursday.

There were 627,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended June 20, up 15,000 from a revised 612,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said.

The number was above the consensus estimate of 600,000 from economists surveyed by Briefing.com.That's the highest level of initial claims since the week ended May 16, when 636,000 were filed.

Of course there are Obamapologists who still contend that the green shoots are sprouting all over the fruited plains, but Jim Geraghty points out that so far there's only been a one week downward blip on the numbers in June, and that has reversed. Plus, he says, the revised numbers from the government keep going skyward as well:

6/11 initial new number: 601,000
6/11 revised new number: 605,000

6/11 initial total number: 6.820 million
6/11 revised total number: 6.835 million

6/18 initial new number: 608,000
6/18 revised new number: 612,000

6/18 initial total number: 6.687 million
6/18 revised total number: 6.709 million

6/25 initial new number: 627,000

6/25 initial total number: 6.738 million

Add a little "cap and tax" and "health care reform" to the economic mix and see just how closely we can mirror the last Great Depression.