This is another GOP effort that I think will generate no real legislative results, but again, a question worth asking.
The latest employment report in New Jersey, released on September 16, shows that private sector employment figures reported by the Department for July, including a claim of 13,000 private sector jobs added, were overestimated significantly. As Governor Corzine has trailed Chris Christie in the polls throughout the summer and into September, those bloated figures have been touted by Governor Corzine’s reelection campaign in press statements and television commercials in subsequent weeks.
New Jersey Republican State Committee Chairman Jay Webber today released the following statement concerning the call for hearings and discrepancy in the reported data:
“In this crucial election, it is imperative that state government be kept free from political influences and considerations. Consequently, it raises legitimate suspicions that just as two early August polls showed Governor Corzine’s floundering reelection campaign trailing by 13 and 14 points, a wildly inaccurate and unduly optimistic jobs report was released from the Governor’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Governor Corzine went on to make that report a centerpiece of his campaign for the next month, featuring it in million-dollar TV ad buys and press events all over the state.”