Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

Last Week: Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's data was revised to show 8,000 more applications received than previously reported.

This Week: Jobless claims fell by 1,000 to 388,000 in the week ended April 21 from a revised 389,000 the prior period that was the highest since early January, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a drop to 375,000.

So for the last two weeks they have increased the previous week's job losses to make the current week's look like less lost than the previous week. Adding a total of 11,000 more jobs lost than previously reported so they could say claims fell 3,000 instead of increasing by 9,000. I think.

A pattern they have been practicing for a long time now. Just look at March.

The week of March 3 was originally reported as 362k lost to 365k the next week so they could report a decrease.

The week of March 10 from 351k to 353k

The week of March 17 from 348k to 364k

The week of March 24 from 359k to 363k

If I tried this with my bank accounts to pay creditors that keep calling these days I'd end up in jail.

Truth is I don't think they have a clue of how bad it is out here. What's really going on. And I don't think they care. Any of them.

Meanwhile:

"We're headed in the right direction. Unemployment continues to drop and those people who are unemployed, they're not going to be voting for the party who wants to cut their benefits, cut access to food stamps, cut job training," Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) said on MSNBC's Al Sharpton program.

"The idea that Republicans are trying to help those who are unemployed is nonsense and I think that on this election day, those who have a job can credit the administration for stabilizing our economy and those who don't know that this administration is trying to put them to work," he said.

 

That's cynical as it gets. And Chaka needs to keep in mindonly those who are still collecting unemployment may MAY vote for Obama to keep them. How about those millions who are unemloyed and no longer collecting? Or never were able to collect?

Oh, that's right. They're not counted in the statistics. They don't exist. So no worries.

I'd love to discuss this further but I need to get back to trying to find a job.

Whether it really exists or not.