Labor Department Concedes Disparity in Estimates of Jobs by U.S. and States
WASHINGTON -- The Labor Department acknowledged that its tally of jobs in the U.S. exceeds the total estimates made by the 50 states, raising the possibility that the federal government is overstating the economy's strength.</br></br>Labor Department officials said it is too soon to tell which tally is more accurate.</br></br>In March, the two estimates of nonfarm payroll employment were nearly the same. But since then, the two sets of figures have diverged. In September, the national tally was roughly 400,000 larger than the sum of state estimates -- before taking into account seasonal adjustments -- according to Labor Department figures.</br></br>Earlier this year, the Labor Department lowered its estimate of the total number of jobs in the economy a seasonally adjusted 658,000, or 0.6%, because of a similar gap between the national and state data. The revisions made the recession look worse than it had previously.</br></br>William G. Barron, the deputy commissioner of labor statistics, are likely to address the issue in testimony today before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, Labor Department officials said. But it will be several months before the department's experts will know for sure if a large revision of the federal statistics are necessary.