Apple's job-creation data spawns debate

Last Friday, Apple released employment data that suggests the company is directly and indirectly responsible for 500,000 jobs in the US. Now that the study has been out for a few days, economists are debating its accuracy, says a New York Times report.

Some believe Apple is boosting its numbers by claiming workers who would have been employed at other places if Apple didn't exist. Others question Apple's use of job multipliers which are used to estimate the number of indirect workers associated with an industry. When Apple says it's responsible for 210,000 app economy jobs, the company uses a multiplier to arrive at this figure. Because they can vary so widely, the use of these estimates are fiercely debated among economists.

The one thing most economists can agree on is that Apple has a big impact on the economy and is creating new jobs in the US. The extent of this impact and the number of jobs will likely be debated for years to come.