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CNBC’s Rick Santelli may hardly disguise his shock when the newest U.S. jobs knowledge hit the wire.
“Initial jobless claims… hitting the wires at 189,000! Wow!” Santelli stated on CNBC Thursday morning (1).
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“That is truly incredible. We’re looking at levels truly that we probably haven’t seen since the late ’60s. This is very, very incredible.”
He wasn’t exaggerating the scale of the transfer. According to the Department of Labor, seasonally adjusted preliminary claims fell to 189,000 for the week ending April 25, down 26,000 from the earlier week’s revised level of 215,000 (2). The four-week shifting common additionally dipped to 207,500.
Bloomberg reported that the determine marked the lowest level since 1969 (3). Economists had anticipated 212,000 claims — that means the precise number got here in far beneath forecasts.
Initial jobless claims are intently watched as a result of they provide a well timed learn on layoffs. When claims fall, it may possibly counsel employers are holding on to employees — an indication of labor market energy.
Reuters described the labor market as remaining in a “low hire, low fire” mode, even as economists proceed to look ahead to dangers tied to inflation, oil costs and broader world uncertainty (4).
Income and spending additionally got here in sizzling
Santelli additionally pointed to stronger-than-expected private revenue and spending knowledge.
“Let’s get into the personal income and spending numbers,” he stated. “Income up six-tenths — double expectations — and that would be the best level since the summer of ’25, July to be specific.”
He added that spending was “equal to expectations,” up nine-tenths, calling the number “pretty robust.”
The Bureau of Economic Analysis stated private revenue elevated $149.2 billion, or 0.6%, in March, whereas disposable private revenue rose $142.5 billion, additionally up 0.6% (5). Personal consumption expenditures climbed $195.4 billion, or 0.9%.
Santelli framed that spending number as notable.
“How does up nine-tenths compare? Well, you’d have to go to the last quarter of ’24, when it was up 1%,” he stated. “And we are a consumption economy. That is pretty good news.”
Given that client spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of U.S. GDP, a robust studying on that entrance is an encouraging signal for the nation’s financial output.
Read More: Robert Kiyosaki warned of a ‘Greater Depression’ — with millions of Americans going poor. Was he right?
Betting on America
Taken collectively, the knowledge factors to an economic system that also has momentum: jobless claims have fallen to a multi-decade low, revenue is rising and customers are nonetheless spending.
For buyers, that sort of resilience could be a reminder that even amid inflation considerations, world uncertainty and market volatility, the U.S. economic system nonetheless has highly effective engines of development — some extent investing legend Warren Buffett has repeatedly emphasised.
“For 240 years it’s been a terrible mistake to bet against America, and now is no time to start,” Buffett wrote in his 2015 shareholder letter (6). “America’s golden goose of commerce and innovation will continue to lay more and larger eggs.”
He additionally has a transparent, easy piece of recommendation for on a regular basis Americans wanting to capitalize on that golden goose — no stock-picking expertise required.
“In my view, for most people, the best thing to do is own the S&P 500 index fund,” Buffett has famously acknowledged (7). This method provides buyers publicity to 500 of America’s largest firms throughout a variety of industries, offering instantaneous diversification with out the want for fixed monitoring or lively buying and selling.
The technique has served buyers properly: the S&P 500 returned 16% in 2025 and has gained roughly 72% over the previous 5 years.
And maybe the largest attraction is its accessibility — anybody, no matter wealth, can reap the benefits of it. Even small quantities can develop over time with instruments like Acorns, a preferred app that robotically invests your spare change.
Signing up for Acorns takes simply minutes: hyperlink your playing cards, and Acorns will spherical up every buy to the nearest greenback, investing the distinction — your spare change — right into a diversified portfolio.
With Acorns, you may spend money on an S&P 500 ETF with as little as $5 — and, when you enroll at this time with a recurring funding, Acorns will add a $20 bonus to assist you start your funding journey.
For buyers involved in particular person shares, analysis instruments like Moby can come in useful. Their group of former hedge fund analysts does the heavy lifting — breaking down the market, flagging high quality shares, and making the analysis straightforward to digest.
In reality, throughout practically 400 inventory picks over the previous 4 years, Moby’s recommendations have crushed the S&P 500 by virtually 12% on common. Their analysis retains you up-to-the-minute on market shifts, and takes the guesswork out of selecting investments.
Plus, their stories are straightforward to perceive for rookies, so you may become a smarter investor in just five minutes.
Build wealth by means of US actual property
Beyond shares, actual property has lengthy been one other cornerstone of wealth-building in America.
In reality, Buffett typically factors to actual property when explaining what a productive, income-generating asset seems to be like. In 2022, Buffett acknowledged that when you supplied him “1% of all the apartment houses in the country” for $25 billion, he would “write you a check” (8).
Why? Because no matter what’s occurring in the broader economic system, individuals nonetheless want a spot to reside and residences can constantly produce lease cash.
Real property additionally gives a built-in hedge towards inflation. When inflation rises, property values typically improve as properly, reflecting the increased prices of supplies, labor and land. At the identical time, rental revenue tends to go up, offering landlords with a income stream that adjusts with inflation.
Of course, you do not want $25 billion — and even to purchase a single property outright — to spend money on actual property. Crowdfunding platforms like Arrived provide a neater method to get publicity to this income-generating asset class.
Backed by world-class buyers like Jeff Bezos, Arrived permits you to invest in shares of rental homes with as little as $100, all with out the trouble of mowing lawns, fixing leaky taps or dealing with tough tenants.
The course of is straightforward: browse a curated collection of houses which have been vetted for his or her appreciation and revenue potential. Once you discover a property you want, choose the number of shares you would like to buy after which sit again as you start receiving any positive rental income distributions out of your funding.
And as of November 2025, Arrived has already paid out greater than $19 million in dividends to over 900,000 registered buyers.
And when you’re involved in multifamily actual property, you may think about Lightstone DIRECT.
Lightstone DIRECT’s direct-to-investor model ensures a excessive diploma of alignment between particular person buyers and a vertically-integrated, institutional owner-operator — a complicated and streamlined choice for particular person buyers wanting to diversify into private-market actual property.
With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited people can access the same multifamily and industrial assets Lightstone pursues with its personal capital, with minimal investments beginning at $100,000.
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Article Sources
We rely solely on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For particulars, see our ethics and guidelines.
YouTube (1); U.S. Department of Labor (2); Bloomberg (3); Reuters (4); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (5); Berkshire Hathaway (6),(7); CNBC (8)
This article offers info solely and shouldn’t be construed as recommendation. It is offered with out guarantee of any form.
