When the April jobs report came out, most of the media were talking about however bad it was, the reality was even worse.
- LA Times - May 8 'The Unemployment rate may be even worse than it looks'
- Associated Press, May 8 - '[The Jobs Report is] Even Worse than it looks. Really.'
- Vox.com, May 8 - '20.5 million job losses recorded - and the real situation is even worse'
- Politico.com, May 11 - 'The jobs situation is worse than it looks'
- Bloomberg Opinion, May 8 - 'This Ugly Jobs Report is Just the Beginning'
- CNBC - May 21 'May Unemployment looks worse than expected'
The print media were more balanced, but the internet and televised media all took the glass-half-empty view. Because 18.1 million people, 78%, expected their layoffs would be temporary, there was the possibility of better results in May, if things began to re-open. All of these media outlets, however, chose to expect worse.
What interests me most in this episode, is that again the media were all taking an unprecedented situation and were unable to envision what would eventually transpire. How is it that the media predictions can all be so certain of events that never come to be?