BLS reports non-farm employment fell in March by another 663,000 jobs.  Since this number is in line with expectations and the market is currently manipulated, er, trending up, there appear to be no obstructions today…

Zero Hedge points out that unemployment typically peaks six months after the S&P 500 has bottomed. Highlighting that San Francisco Fed president Janet Yellen predicted the unemployment rate would continue to rise into 2010, Zero Hedge argues it’s too early for the stock market to rally:

“Assuming a very early Q1 peak, the implication is that the market is headfaking this number yet again (which jives with Roubini’s point earlier) and this is merely yet another bear market rally, as the real equity lows will not be evident until Q3 of 2009.”

Our previous post of Fitch’s economic outlook tends to validate an assumption of at least first quarter 2010 before the bottom of unemployment can occur:

“However, while the forecast assumes that policy measures aimed at stabilising the financial sector gain traction, ongoing household de‐leveraging will weigh on private‐sector demand, keeping GDP growth in 2010 well below potential. Consequently, Fitch projects the unemployment rate to continue rising to a peak of 10%, implying additional job losses of around 3 million, on top of the 5 million to date since the end of 2007.”