Friday’s Jobs Number Won’t Be Big News

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I realize this is pointless, but I have to say it anyway. On Friday morning the BLS will release employment numbers for April. They will show something like eleventy jillion jobs lost, which will prompt banner headlines everywhere. Worst Job Loss Since Great Depression! Unemployment at Record High!

This is ridiculous. It’s like passing Prohibition and then following up with a breathless headline about people buying less booze. I mean, if you literally order 30 million people to stop working, then of course the BLS is going to report that 30 million jobs have been “lost.” It’s completely meaningless.

So is there any chance we could all go easy on this? You know, go ahead and report it, but do it in context and not in 100 point type? That would be great. Thanks.

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A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

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