It all makes perfect sense. Challenger announced this morning that layoffs in January soard 17.6% year-over-year with planned job cuts at the highest level in almost 2 years... Jobless claims in Shale states continues to trend higher as oil prices collapse... but initial jobless claims beat expectations - hovering near cycle lows - though did rise modestly WoW. Jobless Claims in Shale States continues to trend higher... (this data is lagged a week) Job Cuts announced soars over 17% YoY... The number of planned layoffs by U.S. employers rose to a nearly two-year high in January as the energy industry slashed jobs in the face of falling oil prices, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Employers planned to let go 53,041 jobs in January, up 63 percent from the 32,640 layoffs announced the previous month. Total job reductions last month were the highest since February 2013. And Jobless claims rose modestly but is hovering near multi-year cycle lows... Charts: Bloomberg