Latest weekly report on initial unemployment claims shows no progress during an entire year.  Don’t bother concerning yourself with weekly developments on initial unemployment claims.  The latest report from the Department of Labor not only shows a lack of progress from last week’s level of initial claims – it demonstrates that no progress has been made in reducing unemployment during the past year .   Jobless Claims Increased Slightly Last Week From the report: In the week ending January 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 371,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 367,000.  The 4-week moving average was 365,750, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 359,000. What follows is a list of the final, revised weekly totals for initial unemployment claims during January of 2012.  As you can see, the results are identical to what we are seeing in January of 2013: January 7,  2012  390,000 initial claims January 14, 2012  364,000 initial claims January 21, 2012  372,000 initial claims January 28, 2012  381,000 initial claims February 4, 2012  371,000 initial claims The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics concerns the month of November, 2012.  This report contains specific admissions about the lack of change during the past year.   Jolting January is Underway From the report: The number of job openings in November was 3.7 million, unchanged from October. *   *   * In November, the hires rate was unchanged at 3.2 percent. *   *   * Over the 12 months ending in November, the hires rate (not seasonally adjusted) was unchanged for total nonfarm and total private and was little changed for government. The hires rate decreased in arts, entertainment, and recreation over the 12 months ending in November and was little changed in all four regions. *   *   * In November, the quits rate was unchanged at 1.6 percent. The quits rate was little changed for total private and government. Also on Thursday, the Commerce Department released its Wholesale Trade report for November .  Although economists expected inventories to increase by 0.3 percent, they actually increased by 0.6 percent, to a record $498.95 billion.  Sales rose to $419.33 billion, which was the highest level in 18 months.  The inventories/sales ratio was 1.19. The major ETFs expected to respond to the weekly report on initial unemployment claims, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and the November Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories report from the Commerce Department are: Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: XLY )  +0.49% SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA:XRT)  + 0.11% Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: XLP )  +0.59% iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IWM )  +0.23%   Learn More About iShares iShares Russell 2000 Growth Index ETF (NYSEARCA:IWO)  +0.10% Bottom line:  The latest reports from the Department of Labor (the weekly report on initial unemployment claims and the JOLTS report from the BLS) demonstrate that virtually no progress has been made in the jobs crisis during the past year.  Fortunately, the Commerce Department provided some good news with a positive Wholesale Trade report. Sign up for Wall Street Sector Selector’s FREE Stock Market Timing Indicator!    Disclaimer: The content included herein is for educational and informational purposes only, and readers agree to Wall Street Sector Selector’s Disclaimer , Terms of Service , and Privacy Policy before accessing or using this or any other publication by Wall Street Sector Selector or Ridgeline Media Group, LLC.