What articles were of most interest to you the readers this past month?

This column writes articles most days of the month. Some days the article focuses on jobs, sometimes it focuses on housing. Sometimes this column produces an article on the weekly unemployment claims data. Saturdays are "week in review" articles.     

(Oct. 26) Do you remember how the weekly unemployment claims data used to be breaking news at 8:30 AM ET for weeks and years on end? They still publish that weekly report. Do you remember how the administration was touting 60, 70, 80, and 90 consecutive weeks of sub-300,000 seasonally adjusted first-time claims? That streak is ongoing, if you use the claims data from the past year that have been reported in the press. Readers of this column know that this is a FACT (False Assertion Considered to be True.) The streak never got traction. It ended most recently during Thanksgiving week of 2016. "Astonishingly Good Unemployment Claims Data" details how we had fewer first-time claims for the third week of October than were recorded during the third week of October 1970. The same is true for the second week of October continuing claims data.

(Oct. 7) Often a week in review article is one of the most popular articles of the month. This month three of the win in review articles made the top ten. The most read week in review article was the October 7 Week in Review. This week there were columns, multiple, regarding the ADP report and the September Jobs Report as well as an article regarding the weekly unemployment claims data.

(Oct. 14) The second week in review article to make the top ten was the week in review column for October 14th. This article reviewed the various follow-up articles to the September Jobs Report, including the "Five Presidents at __ Months" article, the "War on (Wo)Men" article, and the sector data article.

(Oct. 6) The monthly jobs report was stunningly maligned. This was a month where increasing participation, improved mostly by the creation of more part-time jobs, one million more part-time jobs,   while recording declines in the number of unemployed workers was overshadowed by a drop in the seasonally adjusted CES worker data. There was a ton of details that were ignored. The U-6 unemployment rate fell. The U3 unemployment level and unemployment rate fell. More people worked multiple jobs during September than did so during August. "Sept. Jobs Up, Workers Down" tells the story of the two data sets  used to create one report.

(Oct. 16) This week began where the last week finished, writing about the Monthly Jobs Report, or Employment Situation Report. There are many ways to examine the jobs/worker situation. Some people have blamed the drop in the workforce participation rate on the retiring Baby Boomers. "Our Aging Workforce this September" dispels that Urban Myth, again. The workforce participation rate has fallen for those under the age of 59.

(Oct. 4) Wednesday was "Jobs Day - Part 1." The growth in the seasonally adjusted manufacturing data came to fruition. The interesting piece of data was that both the IT and the Trade, Transportation and Utility sectors saw declines in jobs. "Sept. ADP Shows Stronger Goods Producing Jobs" goes into detail. The number was not strong. It was positive.

(Oct. 11) There was a "War on Women" reported during the 2012 election. The real war was a war on the male workforce. Men lost over 10 million full-time jobs at the depth of the recession. Women lost 3.8 million full-time jobs. "Women Winning Recession Recovery War" details how women recovered faster than men, have added more full-time jobs than men, and how men still have more full-time jobs than women and women have more part-time jobs than men.

(Oct. 13) The September Monthly and Annual Retail Trade Survey (MARTS) data was  released at roughly the same time as the Consumer Price Index data.. We are on track for the best Retail sales year EVER. Yes, there was a drop from August to September, non-seasonally adjusted. That is called Summer ending. September of 2017 is up from September 2016 by over 4%. This is a streak that has been on-going since January. Personal Consumption Expenditure are a large portion of the Gross Domestic Product. "Retail Sales Continue 4% Growth Rate" asks whether or not a 3% final annual GDP rate is close at hand. Sales are growing faster than inflation.

(Oct. 21) Another week, another week in review.The October 21st Week in Review Article covered on jobs, housing, and unemployment

(Oct. 24) How have the recent hurricanes, Harvey, Irma, and Maria, impacted the jobs and unemployment data? The authors of the weekly unemployment claims report they have inferred that they have impacted the jobs markets in affected areas negatively. So why do we have weekly claims level lower than what was recorded during the 1970s? "Economic Hurricanes: September" details how these regions are recovering quickly and, for the most part, are doing better than they were during September of 2016. The main exception is Puerto Rico where data collection has been all but impossible.

The take away this month is that you like to read my Saturday week in reviews and that you are interested in jobs, unemployment, and housing. This is fairly consistent month to month. It looks like it is time to write more columns on the economy as the ADP number was just released, the unemployment report is tomorrow, and the Government Employment Situation Report will be released this Friday.

It's the economy.