1.  The jobless statistics are derived from a separate survey of Massachusetts households.

2.  The central bank might have delayed its interest rate cut had it had the benefit of the new jobless statistics, analysts said.

3.  The jobless statistics were released just hours after Cathay Pacific announced hundreds of staff were being retrenched.

4.  The trend of gradually rising unemployment rates could indicate China is little by little adjusting its jobless statistics, which foreign observers have long dismissed as understatements.

5.  US jobless statistics for February also went down well.