Tech Leads But Jobs Don't Follow By Vincent Farrell Jr. About this article: Reading Wednesday's release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book a little closer shows that technology and tech spending seem to be relatively strong throughout the 12 Fed districts. Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City and San Francisco noted strengthening conditions in a variety of tech-related areas. The recent surprise in the Empire State Manufacturing Index -- the number was double what was expected -- would bear that out as the New York area has more tech manufacturing than many other areas. Unfortunately, tech doesn't rely on growing numbers of workers. That was painfully emphasized with Thursday's initial unemployment claims number, which rose a bit from last week to 531,000. Despite economic reports that seem to be improving, unemployment claims are stubbornly refusing to come down. We need initial claims to fall below 400,000 before we can look for new job growth. The Conference Board's index of leading economic... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200. More Stories From RealMoney Durable Goods Up Move Down the Tech Food Chain Jobless Claims Still High Bulls' Tenacity Is the Big Question Mark Should You Buy It? Pharmaceutical Product Development Bad News Trumps All Support for Banks Holds, For Now Bummer, Yields Are on the Rise Money on the Line Makes a Big Difference Structured Products: Unsafe at Any Price MORE STORIES FROM REALMONEY

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