Trump boasts of 'blowout' 303,000 jobs report, leading economists to puzzle over his math
Donald Trump boasts of 303,000 new jobs, more than twice actual figure
Donald Trump boasts of 303,000 new jobs, more than twice actual figure
Economists were scratching their heads after President Trump tweeted about a “blowout” 303,000 jobs that the economy added in October, more than twice the 128,000 that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported early Friday.
"Wow, a blowout JOBS number just out, adjusted for revisions and the General Motors strike, 303,000," Trump tweeted. "This is far greater than expectations. USA ROCKS!"
Chris Lu, the former deputy secretary of labor for President Barack Obama, tweeted that Trump had "reached a new low and is making up fake numbers."
Even though Trump's comments about the jobs numbers included caveats about revisions and the GM strike, economists were still puzzling over his math.
“What the president said today is not tethered to any empirical reality,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist of RSM.