April 05, 2012
Okay folks, this is getting really stupid at this point. The headline of the AP article in the Washington Post on the latest unemployment claims number tells readers:
“weekly US unemployment claims fall to 357,000, a 4-year low, as job market strengthens.”
Before anyone gets too excited, they should be reminded that claims for two weeks ago had originally been reported as 348,000, and last week’s originally reported number had been only slightly higher at 359,000. The upward revision of the weekly unemployment claims numbers has been so consistent that it is virtually certain that this 357,000 number will be revised higher with next week’s report.
It remains to be seen whether it will still be a 4-year low when the data is revised next week. A bit more caution would have been appropriate in assessing this release.
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