Unemployment claim statistics - maybe they are learning

When I saw the headline, I thought it was the week after Thanksgiving all over again, where they ballyhooed lower unemployment claims than expected for the week of Thanksgiving, only to be followed a week later by higher than expected unemployment claims, which was no surprise to me. They may still not be good at estimating what to expect, but at least they realize that the holiday distorted the statistics, and next week will likely be higher than "expected".

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28557005/

Weekly jobless claims drop unexpectedly
But the number of people continuing to seek aid rises sharply
updated 37 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The number of Americans continuing to seek unemployment benefits has risen sharply, according to government data released Thursday, indicating that laid-off workers are having a harder time finding new jobs as the U.S. recession enters its second year.

The Labor Department also reported that initial applications for unemployment insurance dropped by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 467,000 for the week ending Jan. 3. Wall Street economists expected initial claims to increase, but analysts said the new figure reflects the difficulty the government has in making seasonal adjustments over the holiday period.

The four-week average of initial claims, which smooths out fluctuations but also includes the shortened holiday weeks, fell by 27,000 to 525,750.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28557005/page/2/

Electronic unemployment filing systems have crashed in at least three states in recent days due to the crush of Americans seeking jobless benefits.