John McCain: ‘I’m Not Enough Of An Economist’ To Weigh In On Veracity Of Jobs Numbers

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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told CNBC Friday that he’s not equipped to weigh in on the conservative conspiracy theory that the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was cooked up by the White House to improve the president’s reelection chances.

“I think it is some good news for Americans. I think that a lot of families are still hurt very, very badly. Depending on how you count it, 23 million people are still out of work,” McCain said. “A lot of this data is people who are part-time unemployment. But I can’t — frankly, I’m not enough of an economist to question exactly what those numbers are.”

McCain was a guest on CNBC to discuss his claim that the Obama administration violated the WARN Act when it told defense contractors not to officially caution employees that mass layoffs are coming as a result of the sequestration deal voted into law by Congress earlier this year. The administration says it would be “‘”inappropriate’ for employers to send such warnings because it is still speculative if and where the $110 billion in automatic spending cuts might occur,” according to the AP

Referring to that charge, McCain told CNBC “I wouldn’t put anything past this administration.”

 

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