From Pine View Farm

Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go (Updated) 1

Noticeably under 400k for the first time in a long time:

Applications for jobless benefits decreased by 36,000, more than forecast, to 383,000 in the week ended Feb. 4, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast claims would fall to 410,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The total number of people receiving unemployment insurance fell, while those collecting extended payments increased.

Afterthought:

Next time you complain because the predicted day’s high temperature was off by a couple of degrees or because the forecasted rain started an hour early, stop and consider how ticked off you would be if these unnamed “economists” cited above were predicting the weather.

Addendum:

Elmer Smith at Philly dot com cautions that

It’s all in how the numbers get calculated.

Follow the link for his explanation of the variables.

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1 comment

  1. Dick Destiny » Increasing number of those for which alles kaput

    February 10, 2011 at 1:29 pm

    […] More at Pine View Farm where Frank refers readers to a journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, one tasked … […]