Unemployment: Compared with what?

January 17, 2011

On the 16th, I promised to provide some unemployment statistics today that will answer this question: The unemployment picture has improved, but where are we compared with prior years? Is this a real turnaround, or are we simply slowly headed in the right direction?

I am going to be a day late because I want to upload a chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that provides the promised information, but the download has been frozen yesterday and today. (The website says this is probably due to the Bureau updating the information.)

As soon as the report is available to download, I will fulfill my promise. (But I can give you a hint: It is a pretty pathetic picture.)