Here are a few more graphs based on the employment report … Employment-Population Ratio The Employment-Population ratio ticked up slightly to 58.5% in February, after plunging since the start of the recession. This is about the same level as in 1983. Click on graph for larger image in new window.…

ADP reports : Nonfarm private employment decreased 20,000 from January to February 2010 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the ADP National Employment Report®. The estimated change of employment from December 2009 to January 2010 was revised down, from a decline of 22,000 to a decline of 60,000. The…

The MBA reports: Mortgage Refinance Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey The Market Composite Index … increased 14.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. … “Mortgage applications rebounded last week, particularly refis, as rates dropped back below 5 percent,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President…

With all the talk about the impact of the February snow storms on employment, it is worth remembering that the temporary hiring for Census 2010 will also distort the payroll employment numbers. Luckily the Census Bureau provides a monthly report on net hiring for the decennial census: Census 2010 temporary…

From the American Bankruptcy Institute: February Consumer Bankruptcy Filings up 14 Percent over Last Year The 111,693 consumer bankruptcies filed in February represented a 14 percent increase nationwide over the 98,344 filings recorded in February 2009, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), relying on data from the National Bankruptcy…

Click on graph for larger image in new window. This graph shows the historical light vehicle sales (seasonally adjusted annual rate) from the BEA (blue) and an estimate for February (red, light vehicle sales of 10.4 million SAAR from AutoData Corp). This is a 3.5% decline from the January…

Larry Summers on CNBC: “Very important to look past the next [employment] figures.” (27 second long after ad) Last week I spoke to a BLS representative, and although they will not comment on upcoming releases, he told me the BLS would prominently disclose any possible impact of the recent snow…

Binyamin Appelbaum, at the WaPo, reports that Senators Dodd and Corker (Tenn) are nearing a deal to give authority for financial consumer protection to the Federal Reserve. Uh, wasn’t the Fed already responsible for consumer financial protection? More from the WSJ: Senators Outline Plan to Create New Consumer-Protection Unit Within…

Just a reminder … John Schmid at the Journal Sentinel: Unemployment benefits for 1.2 million Americans could expire Sunday Nearly 1.2 million unemployed Americans … face an imminent cutoff of government unemployment checks if Congress cannot pass emergency legislation to extend federal benefits before funding expires Sunday. The National Employment…

Here is the Federal Reserve balance sheet break down from the Atlanta Fed weekly Financial Highlights : Graph Source: Altanta Fed. From the Atlanta Fed: The balance sheet expanded $20 billion, to $2.3 trillion, for the week ended February 17. Holdings of agency debt and mortgage backed securities increased $49…