Aggregator

An anonymous reader shares a report: Anyone who surveys the public, from marketers to pollsters, struggles nowadays to get people to answer their questions. That phenomenon afflicts crucial government data, making it harder for policymakers and investors to know the true state of the economy. Falling survey participation is an important reason the flagship jobs report released every month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the Labor Department, has undergone such big revisions recently. This has rippled into the political sphere. On Aug. 1, President Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after a particularly large downward revision to jobs for May and June that owed partly to late responses from survey participants. The White House and top administration officials increased their attacks on the BLS last week after the agency published an annual revision suggesting the U.S. added 911,000 fewer jobs over the 12 months through March. The BLS blamed the initial overestimate partly on response rates. [...] One hypothesis is known as survey fatigue: People are being asked to answer too many questionnaires. Jonathan Eggleston, a senior economist at the U.S. Census Bureau, found in a 2024 study that recent participants in that agency's monthly and annual surveys, which are voluntary, were less likely to answer the 2020 census by mail, phone or online, without a knock on the door. Another is the rise of cellphones with caller ID. In the days of landlines, people had to pick up the phone to know who was calling. These days, many decline to answer callers they don't recognize.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

People need a collection licence to collect money or sell items on the street for charity

Calvin Harris has accused his former financial advisor of stealing $22.5 million from him to fund a 'boondoggle' real estate development project in Hollywood.

Lady Helen Taylor, the only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, cut a solemn figure at her mother's funeral today. Helen, 61, delivered a reading during the service at Westminster Cathedral.

Braintree councillors will consider sites for more than 500 new homes as part of the Local Plan review.

Dan, 22, who is taking part with girlfriend Ellie, 22, from Cornwall, is left red in the face as the moment is played back for the contestants to watch.

The embattled head of the bureau, who faces a Senate grilling on Tuesday over his handling of the investigation, revealed the shocking motive of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.

The Microsoft Axman Cometh

While Windows 10 might seem to be the biggest casualty as a result of Microsoft's ax-swinging, Office and recent versions of Windows 11 are also set to be chopped.…

As a three-piece boy band who played their own instruments and wrote their own songs they were a breath of fresh air in a world dominated by bands pedalling cheesy tunes.

Gartner survey shows very few are planning to replace human support staff

ai-pocalypse  You'll be able to talk to a human when you need help for many years to come. A new Gartner study shows that fears about AI replacing humans with bots in call centers are unfounded, at least among Fortune 500 and other companies.…

Contestants Angela, Susan, Archie and Jak quickly faltered when faced with Chaser Mark 'The Beast' Labett.

Elon Musk's estranged transgender daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson commanded the runway at the CHRISHABANA show during New York Fashion Week on Monday. 

Chief clinical adviser of the Royal College of Podiatry, Dr Helen Brathwaite, reveals what not to do to protect your feet.

The actress, 51, who has kept a low profile over the last year, shielded her face with a baseball cap while picking up some shopping.

Caroline Cheetham, who has covered the case in its entirety, said she felt the judge had finally 'run out of patience' with the couple.

The drone was spotted flying over the government site in Warsaw on Monday in what appeared to be Russia 's latest test of Poland's air defences.

The accident happened on September 12 on the slopes of Mount Elbrus, in the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, where 37 people were riding the cableway.

This summer was the warmest and sunniest on record. But while you might have enjoyed the record-breaking weather, experts have warned it comes at a cost.

Montecito-based Meghan Markle has attracted the mirth of the internet with a bizarre image of a bouffant-haired Prince Harry staring blankly in to the camera, in a snap taken ten years ago.

US President Donald Trump will land in Essesx tonight ahead of his second state visit to the UK.