Economic Whiplash

May 8, 2021

 

Headline from Friday, May 7, 2021:

 

“Jobless claims hit pandemic low as pace of US hiring keeps rising” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, for an AP article)

 “…stronger spending has boosted hiring, slowed layoffs and accelerated growth. …The economy grew last quarter at a vigorous 6/4% annual rate, with expectations that the current quarter will be even better.”

 

Headline from Saturday, May 8, 2021:

 

“Weak jobs report spurs wave of bickering on recovery plan” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, for an AP article)

“…the employment report failed to show that the U.S. economy was accelerating so much as stutter-stepping along, as the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.1%.”

It’s a little bit of Apples and Oranges—Joblessness vs. Spending—but it shows that you can take a statistic, plug it into your pre-set conclusion, and make it say anything you want.