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New York Times columnist Paul Krugman served himself a generous slice of humble pie after he questioned the amazing May jobs report.

Krugman was forced to admit that not only were the rebounding numbers “real,” his suggestion that President Trump may have done something to influence the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report was unfounded, tweeting Friday that “I apologize for any suggestion that a highly professional agency might have been corrupted.”

After repeated warnings from the liberal media and Democrats of doom and an inevitable recession with 20% unemployment in the country, blaming President Trump and his supposed mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, critics had to eat their words as the latest report showed a surprising turnaround.

As Trump has been promising Americans throughout the unprecedented virus outbreak, the U.S. economy is poised to make an impressive recovery. And as businesses began to reopen, and local leaders began to ease the pandemic lockdown orders, the BLS report released Friday showed that 2.5 million jobs were added to the economy last month and unemployment dropped to 13.3 percent.

‘Stupendous!’ Even CNBC raves over shocking jobs report as US economy comes roaring back https://t.co/SMbnLSo2rU

— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) June 5, 2020

The president gave himself a pat on the back while the left scrambled to find a way to deflate the celebratory news.

Really Big Jobs Report. Great going President Trump (kidding but true)!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

Krugman voiced his skepticism in a tweet suggesting “something quirky” about the report.

“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,” he wrote.

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 3/

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) June 5, 2020

He came under immediate fire, getting backlash even from a former head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics who saw “no red flags.”

@jasonfurman is spot on. As former BLS Commissioner, I see no red flags. And, knowing the processes used and integrity of BLS staff, I think it very unlikely. Commissioners see no number before it’s final. If I hear anything different, I’ll trumpet it loudly. @Friends_of_BLS https://t.co/yjyXUuxAtA

— Erica Groshen (@EricaGroshen) June 5, 2020

Krugman, who received the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, set himself up for plenty of criticism over his take.

So when the BLS reports that millions of jobs are lost in a month that’s evidence that millions of jobs are lost in a month, but then when the BLS reports that millions of jobs were added, that’s proof that Trump “got to the BLS”? Fascinating perspective there Paul

— Bongino Report (@BonginoReport) June 5, 2020

This is outrageous. There is no evidence at all that BLS violated its integrity. You can’t find an agency with more integrity than BLS. It’s completely irresponsible of Dr. Krugman to raise this possibility. There’s not a shred of evidence to support it. https://t.co/QU3cjQvUaz

— Michael R. Strain (@MichaelRStrain) June 5, 2020

“It serves no useful purpose to lend credence to conspiracy theories without any evidence,” financial services reporter at Politico, Victoria Guida, admonished.

If the Dow breaks 27k today we’ll only be 2k off the all time high. Krugman hardest hit 😂

— 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪 (@Rockprincess818) June 5, 2020

This isn’t journalism but baseless conspiracy theorizing, which we were just told is dangerous and mockworthy

— Razor (@hale_razor) June 5, 2020

Krugman soon backtracked, tweeting out an apology that he suggested the BLS may have been “corrupted.”

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. 1/

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) June 5, 2020

But he couldn’t leave it there, going on to defend himself and still attempt to make his point.

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. I was already on record saying that predictions of a huge job loss didn’t look right 2/ https://t.co/v6KvqREFWx

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) June 5, 2020

Again, this does not mean that we’re out of the woods. If expanded benefits expire and aid to state/local govts isn’t provided — which is now more likely — late summer/early fall will be hell 3/

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) June 5, 2020

“Again, this does not mean that we’re out of the woods,” Krugman cautioned, warning that “late summer/early fall will be hell.”

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Frieda Powers

Senior Staff Writer
[email protected]

Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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