Quote for today…

I look both ways before crossing a one-way street. That’s how little faith I have left in humanity. – Unknown

Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” If you are a first-time visitor, this is the weekly column where I look at the numbers in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary sometimes sprinkled with sarcasm and humor.

Topics include – COVID numbers, unemployment, House/Senate projections, Wyoming, challenged books, Biden approval, labor force, gas prices, and more!

1,039,026

That is how many people have died in the United States from coronavirus, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. There have been 93,278,100 cases across the country so far. The first death in the USA was reported on February 29, 2020. (Johns Hopkins)

Two weeks ago, the death total was 1,032,024.

250,000

In the week ending August 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 250,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 10,000 from 262,000 to 252,000. The 4-week moving average was 246,750, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 2,500 from 252,000 to 249,500. (DOL)

Note: On Thursdays, this column is published right after 6:30 a.m. (Montana time), so I can post the latest unemployment numbers.

78

According to FiveThirtyEight.com, the Republicans currently have a 78% chance of winning the majority in the House. (Source)

66.3

That’s the percentage of the vote Trump follower Harriet Hageman received in the Republican Primary Tuesday night for Wyoming’s at-large congressional district. Hageman easily beat incumbent Liz Cheney who received 28.9% of the vote. (FiveThirtyEight)

Trump won Wyoming in 2020 with 69.9%.

63

According to FiveThirtyEight.com, currently, the Democrats have a 63% chance of keeping the Senate. (Source)

59

A database analyst hired by Montana’s largest union testified on Wednesday that during the municipal elections held in 2021, she identified 59 voters who tried to register to vote between noon the day before the election and on Election Day, but apparently couldn’t vote because of a law passed by the 2021 Legislature. (Daily Montanan)

42

A Texas school district has pulled 42 challenged books from its library shelves—including the Bible—just before the start of the academic year under a new policy introduced by conservative leaders. (Daily Beast)

Just stop these silly banned book stunts…

40.4

According to FiveThirtyEight.com, that is President Joe Biden’s current approval rating. (Source)

Two weeks ago, Biden’s approval rating was 39.2%.

6

With the labor force participation rate at 62.1%, one of the lowest rates in decades, WalletHub today released updated data on 2022’s “States Where Employers Are Struggling the Most in Hiring,” plus expert commentary. (WalletHub)

According to the report, Montana ranks as the sixth most struggling state.

0.084 – 11.29

That is the range of the price per gallon of gas around the world as of August 15, 2022. (Source)

In the USA, the average price per gallon of gas on August 15 was $4.20. Two weeks before (August 1), the average price in the USA was $4.46.

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