On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics claimed a “technical issue” caused delays in releasing jobs data last week. Incidentally, jobs data is a campaign issue that could conceivably impact the November elections.
It’s surely just a coincidence.
A hitch related to time-stamping prevented the job revisions data from being released on time, according to information provided by the Labor Department, which the BLS is part of. Outside parties, the BLS said, then got the data because of a lack of communication within the agency over how to respond to public inquiries.
The agency has taken several steps since last week to prevent similar problems from occurring and notified the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General, which may spark an investigation.
The episode is at least the third in a series of missteps this year that critics argue may undermine faith in the…
