Paul Davidson

USA TODAY

Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for president, says the nation is careening toward “a very massive recession,” because of an inflated stock market, high unemployment and “an economic bubble.”

“I think we’re sitting on an economic bubble. A financial bubble,” the brash real estate magnate told the Washington Post in an interview published Saturday. He would not cite a specific sector of the economy, saying he was referring to the economy generally.

Trump, who has fashioned his campaign around appealing to disgruntled blue-collar voters, said the stock market is overvalued and he’s grown wary of investing. More optimistic views of the economy, he said, are based on distorted employment reports.

“First of all, were not at 5% unemployment,” from said. “We’re at a number that’s probably into the 20s if you look at the real number. That was a number that was devised, statistically devised to make politicians – and in particular, presidents – look good. And I would be getting the kind of massive crowds and I’m getting if the number was a real number.”

The Labor Department reported Friday that a broad measure of joblessness -- that includes part-time workers who prefer full-time jobs, discouraged workers who stopped looking and the unemployed – was 9.8%.

And JPMorgan Chase said Friday it believes there’s a less than 30% risk of recession in the next 12 months. Manufacturers are struggling because of a weak global economy and oil industry slump, but consumer spending has been solid and the housing market is continuing to recover.