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In today’s Los Angeles Times , we find this unexpected news about unemployment:

A second report from the Labor Department showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment aid unexpectedly edged higher last week , reinforcing a view that the job market recovery has stalled.

There are two things the media never expects: (1) The Spanish Inquisition and (2) increases in jobless claims. In 19 of the past 24 months, the media has considered it “unexpected” when jobless claims increase:

April 2009 - New Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly (AP)

June 2009 - New Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly To 627K, 6.7M Still Unemployed (Huffington Post)

August 2009 - Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly (Washington Post)

October 2009 - New jobless claims rise more than expected (AP)

December 2009 - Jobless claims rise unexpectedly (Christian Science Monitor)

January 2010 - New jobless claims rise unexpectedly (AP)

February 2010 - First-time jobless claims rise unexpectedly (AP)

April 2010 - Initial jobless claims increase unexpectedly (AP)

May 2010 - New jobless claims rise unexpectedly (AP)

June 2010 - “The number of Americans seeking jobless benefits last week unexpectedly rose to a one-month high, indicating firings are staying elevated even as the U.S. economy grows.” (Bloomberg)

July 2010 - Weekly jobless claims rise unexpectedly (The Hill)

August 2010 - Stocks drop as jobless claims rise unexpectedly (AP)

September 2010 - New Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly (AP)

October 2010 - US initial weekly jobless claims rise unexpectedly (International Business Times)

January 2011 - ” U.S. jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week to their highest level since October, suggesting the labor market is still in a rut despite signs of improvement in the economy.” (Reuters)

February 2011 - First-time jobless claims rise unexpectedly (AP)

April 2011 - Initial Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly (Reuters)

May 2011 -  Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly (Bloomberg News)

See Also: Why the News Makes Us Dumb

“Great Minds Think Alike” Update: Pundit Press’ “Unexpectedly” Compilation


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