Bracing for bad job news

Looks like last month's snowstorms back east are going make a jumble out of the February employment report, due to be released on Friday. In an obvious preemptive strike, White House economic adviser Larry Summers tells CNBC this morning that "it's going to be very important ... to look past whatever the next figures are to gauge the underlying trends." Bad weather messes up the bean counters' measurements because survey results are lower than normal in certain areas. Plus, folks are not looking for work as much as they otherwise would - and companies are not hiring as much as they otherwise would. Of course, a monthly unemployment report is more than numbers - it's the spin on those numbers. Some commentators consider the so-called snowstorm effect to be a lot less than meets the eye - just a way for the administration to explain another sluggish month. It's a silly argument (how do you interpret something that hasn't been released?), but it's out there and it will gain currency in certain anti-Obama quarters. Also on Friday will be the release of state and local employment numbers for January. The several-week delay is due to benchmarking.

Earlier: Jobless confusion