Two things wrong with this headline

New Orleans CityBusiness features this headline: N.O. area shed 1,800 jobs over the year. I see two things wrong with this headline.

1. The subject, “area,” is singular, and should therefore take a singular verb. (The story talks about jobs being lost now. So the verb’s tense is presumably present, not past.)
2. More importantly, the verb should not be “shed.” That word implies that the 1,800 jobs were unnecessary or superfluous, which insults the 1,800 who lost their jobs. “Loses” would be a more appropriate (and a grammatically correct) verb.

Comments

[Larry Oberman]

I apologize for being an infrequent reader whose first comment is a criticism, but...

"More importantly, the verb should not be 'shed.'"

While I agree that the usage is idiomatic, writers should stop using "more importantly" in this construction. What does the adverbial phrase modify in the sentence -- "should not be"? If so, how would you respond to the sentence: "The verb should not be, in a manner that is more important, 'shed'"? Substitute "more important" and you have a grammatically correct sentence with no loss of meaning.

Despite my complaint, I do enjoy my visits to the site.