It seems as though I was not the only one who noticed a bit of spin in the news, when it comes to the recent unemployment numbers:
Via Google Reader, I just noticed two headlines that seemed to report conflicting news. A click to the actual stories revealed a rather significant variation in the headline spin on stories reporting numbers released a few moments ago by the Department of Labor. This is either good news or bad. Take your pick — the headline writers have.
There is one important thing to remember when it comes to unemployment numbers – most states only allow you to claim 26 weeks of unemployment benefits per year. Some states allow, in some situations, for a 13-week extension, but I could not find any way to legally procure year-round unemployment benefits.
Given that limitation, there is no way to prove that folks coming off the unemployment rolls equates to folks getting jobs – it could be that their 26 weeks expired, or they are saving their last few weeks for later in the year. And considering that we are coming on the 26th week of the year… well, you figure it out.
related posts:
the government is the problem | not technically a lie | the government is “helping” |
Huh, interesting. And you wonder why many don’t have a lot of faith in the media as of late.
Of late?