Jobless rates drop in 34 states and DC

[NJmaverick]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Unemployment rates fell in a majority of states last month as improved economic conditions spurred hiring.
The Labor Department said Friday that 34 states and the District of Columbia reported their jobless rates fell in April. Six states reported higher rates, while 10 saw unemployment hold steady.
That marked an improvement from March when 16 states and D.C. reported declines in unemployment, 22 saw increases, and 12 had no change, according to revised figures.
South Carolina's rate fell to 11.6 percent in April, from 12.2 percent in March, marking the largest monthly drop of any state.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100521/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_state_unemployment;_ylt=AqkHbOiv_SjaSXaVbmYZPQms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFma3FxYmhtBHBvcwMxMDIEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9idXNpbmVzcwRzbGsDam9ibGVzc3JhdGVz

[iandhr]

1. but but but...

I thought Obama had a job killing agenda

[NJmaverick]

2. Must be those lying eyes of yours

;-)

[NJmaverick]

3. Must be those lying eyes of yours

;-)

[DavidDvorkin]

6. Those aren't real jobs

and they're just census jobs and they're temporary and they have no benefits and the pay is lousy and they'll disappear again when the double dip hits and we sink into complete disaster and despair. And then DU will be a happy place again.

[NJmaverick]

7. Up until know I have only seen republicans push that false talking point

[DavidDvorkin]

13. I think I've seen all of that on DU.

[Barack_America]

9. Some may be, but I doubt PA hired 34,000 census workers. nt

[Kahuna]

4. But but but....

:patriot:

[Kingofalldems]

5. Newty called--he said this is Marxist and Nazism at the same time

[nichomachus]

8. Employment and unemployment figures are so cooked as to be meaningless

Have been for a long time. It got really worse when the Cheney administration allowed them to use Enron-style accounting, i.e. guessing at what they would like the numbers to be.

[IrishEyes]

10. I believe it

From what I've seen in New York, I believe it.
Things aren't great but I think they are getting better. I'm still unemployed but I'm getting called in for interviews a lot more now. I have more confidence that I will get a job soon. Many of my unemployed friends are getting good jobs. There seems to be a bit more freelance work now.

[renate]

11. Welcome to DU, and good for you!

:hi:

I'm so glad things are looking up for you! Good luck!

[totodeinhere]

12. Rise in jobless claims is largest in 3 months

http://preview.tinyurl.com/3xdh6q7

The number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week by the largest amount in three months.

Those damned statistics. You can usually use them to put forth whatever agenda you want. While Democrats crow about the jobless rate going down in 34 states, Republicans will counter that the number of people filing new claims went up.

[amandabeech]

14. Lies, damned lies, and statistics--Mark Twain

What I like to see, and what I'm too tired and lazy to look for now, are the absolute numbers of jobs held.

Admittedly, those numbers are skewed upward, too, by temp, part-time, and home "businesses" and "consultants" that are generating little revenue.

However, they're a little harder to fudge than percentage numbers in which both numerator and denominator can be fudged.