I see maybe where the communication problem was. The radio station I listen to runs the ABC hourly news. The economic growth story was immediately followed by the poverty story. They tacked the layoff story on there too, just for the cherry on the top, but I didn't mention that.

I looked up the economic indicators myself, and posted a link. I suppose for completeness I should have located and posted a link to the poverty story in my first post.

What was irritating me in this case was the inability to say anything positive about the economy without throwing cold water on it, and this has been a constant feature of these news broadcasts. I don't bring up their treatment of Iraq, since they NEVER have any good news out of Iraq.