GOOD NEWS FOR OBAMA? – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  On the surface, yes.  Under the surface...well...  The number of jobless claims last week was the lowest in four years.  It's good news, until you read the fine print.  From Bloomberg:

Fewer Americans than forecast filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments last week, reflecting the volatility of applications during the annual auto-plant retooling period.

Applications for jobless benefits decreased by 26,000 in the week ended July 7 to 350,000, the fewest since March 2008, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 372,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Last week’s distortion is likely to unwind slowly over coming weeks, a Labor Department spokesman said as the data was released to the press.

Automakers including Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Co. (F) and Nissan Motor Co. are keeping more plants than normal open during this time of year to fulfill demand and replenish inventories. For that reason, it may take time to determine if the labor market is making any progress.

“You can never take claims at face value because of the July shutdowns,” said Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse in New York, who projected the number of applications would drop to 355,000. “We are in a period of uncertainty. This makes for a situation where businesses will hold off on taking risks regarding investment and payrolls.”

COMMENT:  The more important figure is job creation, and that has been catastrophic.  The White House may try to hype this week's unemployment-claims report, but it seems more an aberration than anything else.

July 12,  2012