NY Times columnist Paul Krugman apologizes for floating ‘conspiracy theory’ about jobs numbers that Trump influenced labor data
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Times columnist Paul Krugman apologized Friday after he was roasted for floating a "conspiracy theory" that President Trump could have influenced the Bureau of Labor Statistics
The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 13.3 percent in May, down from a record high in April, indicating the nation's economy is recovering faster than expected from the coronavirus lockdown -- but Krugman didn't buy it.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPS TO 13.3% IN MAY, SIGNALING RETURN OF US JOBS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“This being the Trump era, you can't completely discount the possibility that they've gotten to the BLS, but it's much more likely that the models used to produce these numbers — they aren't really raw data — have gone haywire in a time of pandemic,” Krugman said.
Employers added a stunning 2.5 million jobs in May -- the biggest increase on record. The jobless rate dropped from 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest level ever since record-keeping began in 1948. The surprise decline, combined with the surge in jobs, suggests the worst is over for the nation's economy as states ease stay-at-home guidelines and businesses bring back staff.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Times columnist Paul Krugman apologized for suggesting President Trump could have influenced the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Times columnist apologized in a follow-up tweet after he was hit with significant backlash.
“Getting a lot of outraged pushback over even allowing the possibility of something amiss at BLS. I was just covering myself, because so many weird things have happened lately. But I apologize for any suggestion that a highly professional agency might have been corrupted,” Krugman wrote. “And as I look at the data, I'm starting to believe that the modest job gains may well have been real, not an artifact of the models.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Krugman trended on social media for much of the morning as critics from all sides condemned his initial suggestion:
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Fox Business Network’s Megan Henney contributed to this report.