An Economist Is Throwing Cold Water on Those Sinking Jobless Claims

"We are not in uber-boom mode," says Renaissance Macro's Neil Dutta.

U.S. initial jobless claims continue to linger near generational lows, coming in at 259,000 for the week ending Oct. 17.

But according to Neil Dutta, head of U.S. economics at Renaissance Macro, that's no reason to get too excited.

After the previous release showed filings fell to their lowest level in more than four decades, the economist explained why this metric is painting a rose-colored view of the U.S. labor market's health and prospects for employment growth.

"We would much rather watch jobless claims fall than rise," Dutta wrote. "That being said, initial claims overstate the strength in the labor market."  Read more