US Jobs Stats / No ‘systematic manipulation’ says Census: Systematic?

There is no sign U.S. jobs statistics have been compromised by broad-based employee fabrication of data, according to the Census Bureau.

“We have no reason to believe that there was a systematic manipulation of the data described in media reports,” the agency said today in a statement.

An article in the New York Post alleged employment figures heading into the 2012 presidential election were manipulated. Under pressure from supervisors to boost response rates in the Philadelphia region, Julius Buckmon, a former Census Bureau employee, said he made up information for people he couldn’t reach two years before the 2012 election, according to the Post.

The newspaper, citing an unnamed source, then said the practice went beyond a single employee, escalated in the year of the election and continues to this day. Attempts by Bloomberg to locate Buckmon were unsuccessful.

“The Census Bureau takes allegations of fraud by its employees very seriously,” according to the statement. “Fabrication of data by an employee is grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal and possible criminal action.” The agency said it has reported the allegations to the Office of the Inspector General.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via Census Sees No ‘Systemic Manipulation’ of U.S. Jobs Data – Bloomberg.