Hope this hasn't already been discussed on list, but I heard that starting in January there was a change in the way the unemployment rate is calculated. Does anyone know what the new method us, and what the effect is likely to be on the putative rate? Without knowing anything about it, and given that the Bush administration already stopped issuing "mass layoff" stats, my guess is that the new method will make the economic outlook seem rosier. FWIW, the official January un rate was 5.7%, down .3% from December.