Heavy broadcast and print coverage Friday and over the weekend stemmed from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Feb. 3 news release on employment for January, loaded with upbeat figures amazingly compiled and swiftly released only three days after the end of the first month of 2012, notes Grumpy Editor.
Most editors and business writers, seeking to get the details out promptly, ran with the information. Few raised eyebrows.
The story topped most radio/TV broadcasts and grabbed front-page space heralding the pace of job creation as total nonfarm payroll employment in January rose by 243,000 while the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent in December, according to BLS.
Job growth was widespread in the private sector, with large employment gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing, BLS added.
Government employment changed little over the month, it pointed out.
But missed by many was this BLS message relating to “changes to the employment situation data”:
“Establishment survey data have been revised as a result of the annual benchmarking process and the updating of seasonal adjustment factors.”
Writers, with more time, would call for a government jargon translator for that line.
So how many business writers were led astray?
Newsmax writer Amy Woods related Rush Limbaugh on his Friday radio show said, “The jobless rate reported today is ‘corrupt as it can be’ because President Barack Obama’s administration has decreased the size of the work force.”
Jeff Cox, CNBC.com senior writer mentioned, “The January numbers can be volatile as the Bureau of Labor Statistics makes seasonal adjustments. This year's round produced 1.25 million fewer people in the work force in December, a number that drew some focus as evidence that the drop in the jobless rate could be misleading.”
Some alert business writers pointed out that 11 million people either have stopped looking for jobs or are, reluctantly, working part time. When that figure is added to the 12.8 million unemployed, almost 24 million people are considered underemployed.
See the full BLS news release here.
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