Such sales are considered a more reliable gauge of a retailer's performance.

In a separate report yesterday, the Labor Department described the survey as "a highly reliable gauge."

The index is considered a reliable gauge of growth in manufacturing.

Before a more reliable gauge of the job market can be determined, he added, "we need to see how the numbers settle out in the fall."

Nor will the number of seats Republicans pick up next month be a reliable gauge of the party's long-term health and viability.

The unemployment rate is based on a smaller survey than the job growth numbers, which are widely considered the more reliable gauge of employment.

Under the federal law, states choose the minimum size necessary to produce a statistically reliable gauge of school quality.

Therefore, it is a reliable and highly accurate gauge of an economy's performance.

However, Dmitri's project had too many built-in biases to make it a completely reliable gauge.

Private employment - seen as a more reliable gauge of the economy - rose by 148,000, which was above its average of 122,000 since July.