America leads the world in "Spin"

Don't you just love how good our government officials, Wall St. and the media have become in the "spin" business. An example is today's Initial Jobless Claims numbers. Here are the facts first. Initial Jobless Clams came in at 410,000. Last week the data came in at 388,000. Expectations were for 405,000 and these expectations were published a week ago. I know as I check. One might therefore conclude that the numbers disappointed. In fact the stock market dropped on the news. So here is a Bloomberg.com article on the announcement. See if you can spot the spin. It isn't that difficult.

"Fewer Americans Filed Jobless Claims Over Past Month (Update2)
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By Shobhana Chandra


Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Fewer Americans filed claims for unemployment insurance payments over the past month, indicating the labor market is improving.

The average number of applications for jobless benefits over the past four weeks dropped to 410,750, the lowest level since July 2008, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Claims for the week ended Jan. 1 rose by 18,000 to 409,000, in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Firings have been waning in recent weeks, a necessary step toward gains in hiring that will help boost consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy. A report tomorrow is projected to show employers added to payrolls in December for a third month as the U.S. expansion gained speed.

“The recovery in the labor market is continuing to move along at a gradual pace,” said Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS Securities Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut, who forecast claims would rise to 410,000. “Employers are getting to the point where they are becoming a little more confident about the strength of the recovery.”

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