Last month we noted a certain pattern in the Obama administration’s commentary on the monthly unemployment rate announcement. Every month for almost the past three years, the Obama administration has counseled citizens not to read too much into the just-announced unemployment number. We compiled the administration’s monthly comments in “Read just the right amount into this.” You can also find the compilation at Obama Isn’t Working. Obama administration spokesmen urge us to keep on keeping on with the policies that have brought us the crushingly slow recovery from the recession that officially ended in June 2009.
And what did the administration have to say about the 8.3 percent unemployment number released today? Obama CEA Chairman Alan Krueger did not disappoint. Arguing that the unemployment rate is actually only 8.254%, not 8.3%, Krueger states once again:
“Therefore, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report and it is informative to consider each report in the context of other data that are becoming available.”
Remember to keep that in mind, won’t you?
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