Meaningless Unemployment Numbers Make Headlines

It's being reported all over that the unemployment rate in Washington "dipped" by 0.1 percent, from 9.2 to 9.1 percent. This month-to-month non-change is far more accurately labeled stasis than a "dip"--the real news is that of the 315,000 or so unemployed, thousands are one month closer to running out of UI benefits. Unemployment figures have been politically distorted to the point of absurdity--for one thing, people who fail to find a job for so long that they give up are no longer counted as unemployed. The precision of 0.1 percent change would be laughable if it weren't for the cruel irony that making these announcements is a real job.