We call this "spin"

The Associate Press tells us:


Jobless claims drop unexpectedly

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped unexpectedly last week, another indication that the job market may be healing as the economy slowly recovers.

The Labor Department said Thursday that new claims for unemployment insurance fell by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 432,000, the lowest since July 2008. That was much better than the rise to 460,000 that Wall Street economists expected.

The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, fell for the 17th straight week to 460,250, the lowest since September 2008, when the financial crisis intensified. The crisis led to widespread mass layoffs, which sent jobless claims to as high as 674,000 last spring.

What am I seeing?

I am seeing that almost half-a-million people filed for unemployment last week.

It doesn't matter what they expected, what matters is that there are still layoffs going on.

It's going to take a lot more to convince me of a "recovery."

I hope for it, but I do not see it yet.

PP2AUHUH