According to the BLS …
The number of employed people dropped by 119,000
… from 142,220,000 to 142,101,000
So, how did the unemployment rate go down?
Simple.
The BLS estimated that 368,00 stopped looking for work
In other words, the denominator changed more than the numerator.
I guess if Team Obama can get more people to stop looking for work, we’ll have unemployment problem licked.
Hmmm.
Earlier this week we posted re: the platform bruhaha at the DNC
On Wednesday, there was a do-over on the controversial parts of the platform: reinserting the words “God” and “Jerusalem“
If you haven’t seen the video, check it out … it’s great theater.
Pay attention to the number of votes taken (3) , how the chairman had to talk very slowly so that the Dem delegates would understand what to do, and draw your own conclusion whether the two-thirds threshold was met.
Here’s the most interesting part of the drama: floor photos taken at the time show that the vote’s results were already loaded to the teleprompter … before the vote was taken.
Apparently, the votes were counted before they were cast.
Having loved in Chicago for many years, I can tell you: that’s the Chicago way.
That’s an easy one … but, the latest CNN poll was the first I spotted that divides the population along those lines … or, at least, sorta does.
CNN breaks the sample by those earning less than and more than $50,000 .
$50,000 is about the point where folks have to start paying Federal income taxes.*
No surprises in the data.
Romney has the edge among Federal tax payers.
Obama gets those who don’t pay Federal income taxes … by a whopping 57% to 42%.
Uh-oh.
* P.S. Yeah, yeah, yeah about payroll taxes … but they are “insurance” payments with directly associated benefits.
I promise that I’ll stop writing about BLS reporting bias when the streak ends.
Now we’re up to 77 out of 78 weeks — and, at least 18 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 25 was revised upward from 374,000 to 377,000.
In itself, the 3,000 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 3k … or .8% to your prelim forecast !
The Homa Files 