The unemployment rate: A look at the sampling question.
aswathdamodaran.substack.com
The unemployment numbers for the United States came out yesterday and they seemed internally inconsistent. Payrolls increased by only 36,000 (a significant disappointment, since payrolls need to increase by 200,000 or more to make a dent in unemployment) but the unemployment rate dropped from 9.4% to 9%. The news, though, gives me a chance to talk about one of my favorite topics: sampling, statistics and standard error.
The unemployment rate: A look at the sampling question.
The unemployment rate: A look at the sampling…
The unemployment rate: A look at the sampling question.
The unemployment numbers for the United States came out yesterday and they seemed internally inconsistent. Payrolls increased by only 36,000 (a significant disappointment, since payrolls need to increase by 200,000 or more to make a dent in unemployment) but the unemployment rate dropped from 9.4% to 9%. The news, though, gives me a chance to talk about one of my favorite topics: sampling, statistics and standard error.