Former GE CEO Welch Says White House Manipulates Jobs Data
Jack Welch, writing on his Twitter account, said the Obama administration manipulated U.S. employment data for political gain by showing a drop in the jobless rate.
"Unbelievable jobs numbers..these Chicago guys will do anything..can't debate so change numbers," the former General Electric Co. (GE) chief executive officer said in a messageposted immediately after the U.S. Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent last month, the lowest since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009.
The Obama administration denied the allegation as baseless and defended the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which computes the figures. Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told Bloomberg Television that Welch's remark was "irresponsible."
The message from Welch, 76, a supporter of Republican nominee Mitt Romney, went viral on the social-media site as political commentators and individuals weighed in. Welch took aim at the figures that may matter most before Election Day on Nov. 6, because the October report due on Nov. 2 may be too late to change voters' perceptions about the economy.
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