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August 18, 2006
Another Innumerate Reporter
I suppose technically AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger does not need The Diff, but he is similarly challenged by math. To wit: Consumer inflation accelerated in July, reflecting a big jump in gasoline and other energy prices. In evidence that the economy is slowing, industrial output in July slipped to just half the June pace. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its closely watched Consumer Price Index rose by 0.4 percent last month, double the 0.2 percent increase in June. While energy costs had fallen in June, they rose by 2.9 percent last month, the biggest increase in three months. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve reported that output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities increased by 0.4 percent last month, just half of the 0.8 percent gain in June. Fortunately industrial output in July did not slip "to just half the June pace." Instead the rate of growth of industrial output fell by half from 0.8 percent to 0.4 percent. So output actually increased in July, albeit at a slower rate of increase than June, rather than falling in half. A big difference, no? BTW, a bit of common sense and casual observation would have been useful here--if output really did decrease by half then it would have been abundantly clear from unemployed workers, fewer trucks on the highways, and the like. HT: WSJ's "Best of the Web Today" Posted by E. Frank Stephenson at 08:37 AM in Economics
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