Ex-GE CEO Jack Welch accuses Obama campaign of falsifying jobs data

After this morning's jobs report, which announced that the September unemployment rate fell to a near four-year low of 7.8 percent, retired CEO of General Electric (GE) Jack Welch accused President Barack Obama's re-election campaign on Twitter of falsifying the new numbers.

Welch posted on Twitter, "Unbelievable jobs numbers..these Chicago guys will do anything..can't debate so change numbers." According to Bloomberg News, Welch's Executive Assistant Rosanne Badowski confirmed that Welch is the only person with access to the Twitter account, and that Welch would be in meetings for the rest of the day on Friday and unavailable for comment.

The jobs report has many Democrats celebrating in the wake of what was seen as a listless and dispiriting debate performance on Wednesday night by Obama in his debate against former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA).

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) said in a statement, “We still have a lot of work to do, but with unemployment dropping below 8 percent to the lowest level in four years, our economy is on the right track. The unemployment rate fell even after more than four hundred thousand people entered the workforce. There are still far too many people looking for work in Nevada and across the nation, but today’s report shows that the balanced policies advanced by President Obama and Democrats in the House and Senate are working to move our economy forward."

UPDATE: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has responded to Welch's allegations. According to CBS News, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis called Welch's comments "ludicrous" in an appearance on CNBC.

BLS economist Steve Haugen told CBS News, "The data are not manipulated for political reasons. I've been involved in the process myself for almost three decades. There's never been any political manipulation of the data, period."