Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The dishonest government jobs numbers


New ADP Count Slashes Job Creation for September




Revisions to the way payroll data firm ADP counts private sector job creation have resulted in a sharp drop in the September employment count.
Unemployment
ADP's new calculations put the monthly job creation at just 88,2000, down from the 162,000 the firm originally reported earlier this month.
The firm recently has entered into a partnership with Moody's Analytics that will change the way the private payroll count is calculated.
ADP will announce its October count on Thursday, with the Labor Department to follow on Friday.
The new private payroll count now is actually under Labor's September job creation total of 114,000. The unemployment rate dropped last month to 7.8 percent, but the government said the total number of new workers swelled by 873,000.
Economists expect Friday's report to show 125,000 new jobs and the jobless rate to hold steady.
When the Labor Department revealed its September job count, it sparked criticism from some quarters that the numbers were being manipulated for political purposes as the November presidential election drew near.
Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch caused a skirmish when he said in Twitter, "Unbelievable jobs numbers...these Chicago guys will do anything...can't debate so change numbers." (Read More: Jack Welch Defends His Jobs Report Comments (Again))
The soft ADP count could add credence to those who believe the pace of job creation is slower than the government's numbers indicate.
ADP is expected to announce a further revision to the September count along with its October totals.
In announcing the partnership Oct. 24, the two firms said the partnership will help align the private sector job count with the Labor numbers.
At the same time, the new reports will provide a more detailed breakdown of the numbers while expanding the total of businesses that participate.
ADP occasionally has come under criticism for releasing data that is often widely disparate with the government's final count.

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