Guidant Financial Group Blog

Despite the weak labor market, jobless claims have dropped by 58,000 for the week ending July 5 (see Jobless Claims Dip but Labor Market Still Weak).

Wait, make that no.

According to government analysts, jobless claims actually increased by 30,000.

Huh? Which is it?

Apparently, it’s both. The official, seasonally adjusted number of jobless claims fell by 58,000. However, a government analyst cautioned that “The decline was exaggerated because of adjustment problems related to temporary shutdowns at auto plants for retooling new assembly lines. The unadjusted, or actual raw figures, showed an increase of 30,000 claims for last week.”

Is anyone else frustrated with the lack of solid data on how exactly our economy is doing? Just last month we were trying to figure out whether or not we were seeing inflation (see blog post on 07.13.08).

What we can say is that people are feeling the crunch. Obviously, people are getting laid off, prices are rising and the housing and lending industries are crumbling.

However, with all this doom and gloom there may be something you can do – like take your future into your own hands. For those of you who were laid off, why not consider opening your own business? For those of you getting hammered by the stock market, why not consider placing some of your funds in alternative assets?

There are always options out there. With Guidant’s 401(k) small business financing and self-directed IRA services, you should know that there are alternatives to being at the mercy of factors outside your control.

Being a business owner may not be right for you, and a self-directed IRA may be more than you need. But at least thinking about alternatives may lead you to something that could actually brighten your financial future.