Post script: You know something is seriously wrong when one writes five consecutive weeks of "This week is lower than last week" and, still, the actual unemployment numbers continue to increase. Unemployment is definitely trending upwards
First time claims for unemployment benefits have risen for five consecutive weeks, taking us from a 348,000 initial report for the week ending March 17 to 388,000 for the week ending April 7 and a potential final report of of 390,000-something for the week ending April 14. This is the highest report for first time unemployed folks in 12 weeks (since Jan 14, 2012), when that number came in at 399,000. The week before (Jan 7) the hit 402,000, the time we were at 400,000 or higher after 35 straight weeks at or above 400,000.Obama's strategy: ignore the truth, grab the headline
Obama is playing a game with the first time claims reports. The "initial" report for a particular week is always adjusted seven days later, always. The headline will read, "Unemployment benefit claims came in lower than the week before." That is the headline each week. When you look into the truth of the matter, however, the headline is a grossly manipulated "fact" and is wholly meaningless.
You know something is seriously wrong when you five weeks of "This week is lower than last week" and, still, the numbers continue to increase.
Here is how this happens:
Five weeks later, that childish claim is in shambles. Turns out that the 348,000 number announced for the week ending March 17, was nowhere close to being accurate. Oooops, the Administration had to add another shameful 16,000 to the first time claims report, bring the honest report for March 17 to 364,000. What is not reported is the fact that this "adjustment" was/is the most radical adjustment in the three and a half years the Obama Administration has been reporting these numbers.
March 24: this report had to be adjusted upward by 11,000, the second most radical adjustment in years.
March 31: this report was adjusted upward by 10,000 (to 367,000) , the third highest adjustment since Obama took office.
April 7: this report jumped to a first report of 380,000 and the adjustment was by 8,000, the fourth highest adjustment of the Obama regime.
April 14: the most recent report, stands at 386,000 on its first report.