The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday reported upside revisions to the number of jobs that were created in last year's fourth quarter.
Appearing on CNBC's Squawk Box, Austan Goolsbee, the former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Barack Obama, joked, "It’s an elaborate left-wing plot to make the numbers much better several months after the election so that nobody thinks that there was a conspiracy just before the election."
As the gang on Squawk Box discussed the just-released January unemployment report, the topic of the revisions came up with CNBC's Steve Liesman saying they pointed to much stronger job creation than was previously thought.
"You’re missing the big picture," interjected Goolsbee. "What’s happening here is it’s an elaborate left-wing plot to make the numbers much better several months after the election so that nobody thinks that there was a conspiracy just before the election."
Goolsbee was obviously mocking some high-profile speculation - including from former GE CEO Jack Welch - that the jobs data released before last year's election were being manipulated to help the President.
"That proves the conservative point that liberals are idiots, right, because to upgrade the numbers after the election," added Liesman.
CNBC's Rick Santelli put an exclamation point on it saying, "Out of the mouths of babes."
