Pollster Estimates Ohio Unemployment Now At 100%

A survey of employment status in Ohio households estimates that 100% of the people in the state are now unemployed. There is no official figure for the actual number of unemployed since the pollster concedes that the data are based on projections which were of "limited precision," because the quality of the information depends on the accuracy of the household interviews used for the study.

Designed and conducted by a guy in my neighborhood, the results of the study are being reported exclusively in the Interested-Participant blog. The study's methodology and results are considered valid because some other guys in the neighborhood said so. Additional support is provided by an unrelated survey to be published today on the Web site of The Lancet medical journal.

From SFGate.com: A survey of deaths in Iraqi households estimates that as many as 100,000 more people may have died throughout the country in the 18 months after the U.S. invasion than would be expected based on the death rate before the war.

There is no official figure for the number of Iraqis killed since the conflict began, but some non-governmental estimates range from 10,000 to 30,000. As of Wednesday, 1,081 U.S. servicemen had been killed, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

The scientists who wrote the report concede that the data they based their projections on were of "limited precision," because the quality of the information depends on the accuracy of the household interviews used for the study.

Based upon these two surveys, it can now be concluded that all scientific survey results that are reported with an initial disclaimer that states there is no valid basis or "limited precision" should immediately be sent to the San Francisco Chronicle or any other MSM member.

[Update 10/31/04, 0200EST] Paul at Wizbang has a post up that indicates many people are questioning the validity of the survey indicating that 100,000 Iraqis have died. He cites an article in Slate. It's worth a visit.