1.   Economists said the slight decline masked an economy and a labor market that were still worsening.

2.   The declines mask a week of milestones, at least for the Dow.

3.   While it is true that the overall national number of violent crimes has been going down, DiIulio said, the decline masks a more important underlying trend.

4.   But the overall decline of unemployment masked a steady deterioration in the final months of last year.

5.   Those declines masked gains elsewhere in the report.