Government Statistics May Be Wrong, But They're Not Manipulated

I can think of lots of reasons to question or criticize the unemployment rate, gross domestic product and other economic numbers that the U.S. government puts out. Manipulation by politicians looking to win elections is not one of them.

Why don’t I worry about this? First, because I know a little bit about the people who put together our nation’s economic statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau are run on a day-to-day basis by career employees, not political appointees. Even the appointees are often career staffers who get promoted, and many have served under multiple administrations. When top statistics-agency officials do leave government, it’s often for jobs in academia. Credibility with peers is generally of far more value (economic and otherwise) to these people than anything a politician could do for them.