When you cherry pick numbers because they are bad or good, that makes you partisan. I could cherry pick positive economic numbers and start threads on each one. For example, I think it was yesterday that they announced housing starts (new home construction) had reached it's highest level in, IIRC, either months or years. I could have started a thread on that one, in which people could reasonably have asked why I didn't start a thread a month before when the same stat was very poor. I can't think of how I would answer that criticism except to admit that I was being partisan. It's a pretty obvious conclusion when people seem to be cherry picking data.
If you're going to start whole threads about economic stats, you could at least look at long term trending. How about at least a whole month? Jobless claims are measured by the week. I can't think of anything less relevant than looking at a weekly stat in isolation.
Here is the long term trending on jobless claims:
http://ycharts.com/indicators/initial_claims_for_unemployment_insurance
There are fewer on average in 2012 than 2011, fewer in 2011 than 2010, and fewer in 2010 than 2009. They are, in fact, nearing pre-recession levels right now, even after last week's spike.
Oops.
- wolf
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