As reported by AP on the newest unemployment figures.

The Labor Department said new applications for unemployment insurance dropped by a seasonally adjusted 47,000 to 522,000, the lowest level since early January. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected claims to rise to around 575,000.

A department analyst said the drop in new claims didn’t point to improvements in economic conditions. The second straight weekly decline reflected problems adjusting layoffs for temporary shutdowns at General Motors and Chrysler plants to retool for new models.

But then this news was dropped into the report:

The unadjusted figures actually showed that new claims rose by 86,389 last week, which would push the total to 667,534.

That blew a huge hole into the statement that this was the second week in a row with declines.  There are other things that seem to be overlooked when figuring the unemployment stats.  Right now the reports say that we are at 9.5% unemployment, but if you figure in those that are not counted we are not doing so well as 9.5%.  If one figures in the marginally unemployed, temp workers ands those who have ceased looking for a job…the reality is that the unemployment rate would be close to 20%….and that is a real figure not some trumped up stat to make the investors happy.