As long as the procedure and numbers included are consistent, the calculation of a "jobless rate" can be compared from one period to the next to determine a trend. That's the principal purpose of the number, not to measure precisely what the unemployment level is.

It looks like the recession has bottomed out and we may be on the way back up. Hopefully that's the case. The stock market is always a leading indicator of economic activity and it began it's climb out of the doldrums 3-4 months ago.