I just can't get a handle on the jobless numbers. The one day we hear the unemployment numbers are down, and the next day, that there has been an increase in claims for unemployment benefits. Which numbers can we trust? And how do they compute? And could it be that some of the numbers that are reported have a political bias to them? I.e. originate from the White House as a News Release?
Yahoo!NewsThe number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits rose last week, a sign that jobs remain scarce even as the economy recovers.
The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims increased by 18,000 in the week ending April 3, to a seasonally adjusted 460,000. That's worse than economists' estimates of a drop to 435,000, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.