Employment
A second indicator of great importance in the stock market is the employment rate. Many corporations are affected directly by the labor market, and in a variety of ways. Some very large corporations are vulnerable to strikes by relatively large unionized labor forces, which could cause significant losses. Thus, a change in the labor markets for such companies could affect and change the forecast for profits in the future. Like most indicators, employment statistics have to be reviewed-as part of a trend.
Several employment indicators are found in the economic statistical section. The initial jobless claims, unemployment rate, and number of unemployed, are the more common and most widely reported. These statistics reflect only those individuals who have applied for unemployment or who are currently on the unemployment rolls; they exclude long-term unemployed, and those whose unemployment benefits havej expired.     

Money Supply
Statistics for the money supply show changes in the amount of currency in circulation and available through savings deposits and checking accounts. When money supply is low—a condition called tight money—it is difficult for businesses to find loans to finance operations, so interest rates rise, pushing stock prices lower. If the money supply is allowed to move too high, it results in lower interest rates but fuels inflation. Ideally, the money supply should remain stable enough to control these economic consequences, but remain flexible enough to adjust as the economy grows.
Reporting for the money supply includes the latest available dollar amount—in billions of dollars—for three separate versions of money supply called M-l, M-2, and M-3.

First, M-l, is the basic money supply, which includes currency and demand deposits in institutions—in other words, money immediately available.
The second classification is M-2, which includes M-l plus the value of certificates of deposit and other timed savings accounts; balances in money market mutual funds; and similar short-term money market investments.
The third version is M-3, which includes the above classifications as well as repurchase agreements and other larger money market instruments. Together, the three versions of money supply are called the monetary aggregates.
Money supply is reported in billions of dollars. A typical listing looks like this:
Year Money Supply                        Latest Previous Ago
Month ended Dec. 1997:
Ml (seasonally adjusted)         1068.5         1064.0        1076.9
M2 (seasonally adjusted)         4020.6         3997.8        3825.6
M3 (seasonally adjusted)         5334.2         5285.1        4894.4