In a phone interview with Badger Democracy on Thursday May 31, Richard Clayton (Chief of the Bureau of Labor Statistics division on State Employment Census Verification) clarified the information he supplied to officials with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Clayton is the BLS official who sent the “verification” email to Wisconsin DWD officials:
“I confirmed that the BLS has completed its process of reviewing and verifying the data. I did not verify or acknowledge any actual numbers or data to Wisconsin officials,” said Clayton.
Clayton added, “the Bureau will not comment or release any verified numbers until June 28, the scheduled release date. Until that time, the state can do whatever it wants with the numbers – that is their data. We have only confirmed that our verification process is complete. We supplied Wisconsin officials with no updated numbers as part of this process.”
This information from Clayton appears to contradict information publicized by the Walker Administration, even as late as the debate against Tom Barrett last night – when Scott Walker stated that the BLS had “verified the actual numbers.”
John Dipko, DWD spokesman, did not return emails requesting comment or clarification in light of this new information.
Badger Democracy 