Hmmm...

I'm no prizewinning globetrotting economist or anything (count my blessings!), but this little tidbit perked my ears:

Steven Leslie, lead analyst for financial services at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said every January the economy loses a significant number of jobs, often because stores and shippers lay off the extra hands brought on for the holidays.

The seasonal adjustments by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) attempt to strip out this effect. But because the behavior of employers and employees varies over time, adjustments based on patterns in the past may no longer be correct, Leslie said. Moreover, the BLS have this time made additional adjustment for recently received population estimates based on the 2010 census figures.

Hmmm. If we had a trusted neutral go-to source, we might be able to honestly assess what that impact means on the real numbers.

As it is, Krugs, Klein and the boys are busy popping the corks, pushing the numbers, and encouraging the "Vote Dem" meme.

ADDED: I keep forgetting: is Dave Weigel still getting the journolist meme memos, or is he back playing at being an honest conservative again?

daveweigel
New Black Panthers at job centers, obvs RT @AdamSerwer: So no one has any idea how black unemployment went down so fast last month.