Apparently Boffo Jobless Claims Really Were Good, And Right On Trend

This report is an excerpt from the Permanent Employment Charts page, where you can find more charts on the claims data and various other employment measures.  The Labor Department reported that the seasonally adjusted (SA) representation of first time claims for unemployment fell  by 37,000 to 335,000 from a revised 372,000 (was 371,000) in the advance report for the week ended January 12, 2013. The number was far better than  the consensus median estimate of 369-370,000 reported by major business media. The seasonal adjustment process remains a haphazard and arbitrary process that always yields a fictitious number.  This week, for a change, the reports suggested some concern that the number was wrong.  They should recognize that does not only apply to this one week.  It’s every week.  However, as it turns out, it may not have been as misleading this week as the pundits th...