‘Slumps’

Weekly Example of Media Bias   —   Posted on September 14, 2005

“The nation’s unemployment rate dipped to a four-year low of 4.9 percent in August as companies added 169,000 jobs, a sign that the labor market continued to gain traction before Hurricane Katrina struck,” the Associated Press reports.

But the AP’s headline makes this sound like bad news: “Unemployment Rate Slumps to Four-Year Low.”  Some will say this reflects a bias against reporting good economic news, especially when a Republican is in the White House. But then again, maybe the AP just feels sorry for employers who’ll be hit by higher labor costs.