In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 8 May 2021 09:22:29 -0700, Bob F
wrote:

On 5/8/2021 8:53 AM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 8 May 2021 05:05:40 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, May 7, 2021 at 3:55:13 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 7 May 2021 12:28:30 -0700 (PDT),
" wrote:

On Friday, May 7, 2021 at 2:11:23 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
OT Why does the press routinely report the number of new applications
for unemployment insurance for the week (or the day?), and whether the
number has gone up or down?

It seems to me that the number of NEW cases in any period is almost
random, depending on when employers decide they have to lay people off,
and that's influenced by a dozen factors. Therefore it can go up or down
without meaning anything.

If you graph those numbers, they can show a trend even if there's some
jitter in the data.

Cindy Hamilton
But don't they know the total number getting unemployment and if they
reported that it would be a better measure, both on a graph or without a
graph.

Labor dept reports that number too.

Then for some strange reason, the radio never reports it, only the
number of new cases.

Just like the radio always reports the Dow is down X points, but never
tells you what the actual value is.

I've wondered about the DJ reports too. Of course they woudl be on
Bloomberg Radio, or Wall Street Week, but they include this in the
regular news on regular radio. Are there really that many listeners who
care about average stock prices? If they hear it dropped a lot, will
they rush to sell before it goes down more, or rush to buy to make a
profit? They still won't know which stock has gone down.

I thoughty potential investors might watch one or two stocks, and maybe
buy when the price dips. Or sell when it's comparitively high, but I
can't imagine how the DJ report on the radio news helps them do
anything, plus how many people are actively involved in the stock market
anyhow?

They report high percentages but clarify that that's only because they
have pension funds that buy stocks.


Of course the Labor dept. should report both. I wonder which they
consider more important.