In today’s Los Angeles Times , we find this unexpected news about unemployment:
A second report from the Labor Department showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment aid unexpectedly edged higher last week , reinforcing a view that the job market recovery has stalled.
There are two things the media never expects: (1) The Spanish Inquisition and (2) increases in jobless claims. In 19 of the past 24 months, the media has considered it “unexpected” when jobless claims increase:
April 2009 – New Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly (AP)
June 2009 – New Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly To 627K, 6.7M Still Unemployed (Huffington Post)
August 2009 – Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly (Washington Post)
October 2009 – New jobless claims rise more than expected (AP)
December 2009 – Jobless claims rise unexpectedly (Christian Science Monitor)
January 2010 – New jobless claims rise unexpectedly (AP)
February 2010 – First-time jobless claims rise unexpectedly (AP)
April 2010 – Initial jobless claims increase unexpectedly (AP)
May 2010 – New jobless claims rise unexpectedly (AP)
June 2010 – “The number of Americans seeking jobless benefits last week unexpectedly rose to a one-month high, indicating firings are staying elevated even as the U.S. economy grows.” (Bloomberg)
July 2010 – Weekly jobless claims rise unexpectedly (The Hill)
August 2010 – Stocks drop as jobless claims rise unexpectedly (AP)
September 2010 – New Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly (AP)
October 2010 – US initial weekly jobless claims rise unexpectedly (International Business Times)
January 2011 – ” U.S. jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week to their highest level since October, suggesting the labor market is still in a rut despite signs of improvement in the economy.” (Reuters)
February 2011 – First-time jobless claims rise unexpectedly (AP)
April 2011 – Initial Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly (Reuters)
May 2011 – Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly (Bloomberg News)
See Also: Why the News Makes Us Dumb
“Great Minds Think Alike” Update: Pundit Press’ “Unexpectedly” Compilation
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