The Homa Files

Am I the only person in the world to to think this is nuts?

Media sure isn’t reporting it …

Now we’re up to 76 out of 77 weeks — and, at least 17 weeks in a row — that the BLS’s “headline number” has under-reported the number of initial unemployment claims … and cast the jobs situation as brighter than it really is.

Based on yesterday’s BLS report, the number for the week ending August 17 was revised upward from 372,000 to 374,000.

In itself, the 2,000 isn’t a big deal.

But, in context it is

Again, I ask: statistical bias or political bias?

If the former: fix it already, BLS.

Hint to BLS: just add 2k or .8% to your prelim forecast !

* * * * *

Almost forgot … the preliminary unemployment claims for the week of Aug. 25 are reported even vs. the Aug. 11 preliminary number and up 2K vs the revised Aug. 18 number.

In other words, no indication that a corner has been turned.

>> Latest Posts

Tags: BLS, statistical bias, unemployment

This entry was posted on August 31, 2012 at 6:58 am and is filed under BLS, Employment - Jobs, Statistical Bias, Unemployment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.