Trump’s pick to lead labor stats agency could pause monthly jobs report over accuracy concerns
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Trump’s pick to lead labor stats agency could pause monthly jobs report over accuracy concerns
E.J. Antoni, the economist tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, suggested suspending the agency’s closely watched monthly jobs report. He argued that its underlying methodology, economic modeling and statistical assumptions are fundamentally flawed. “How on earth are businesses supposed to plan – or how is the Fed supposed to conduct monetary policy – when they don’t know how many jobs are being added or lost in our economy?” Antoni told FOX Business in an interview ahead of Monday’s nomination announcement.Antoni’s appointment follows the abrupt dismissal of the agency’s former commissioner, Erika McEntarfer. Her removal came after the agency released new data showing that job growth had been significantly overstated.
In an interview with FOX Business ahead of Monday’s nomination announcement, Antoni criticized the data behind the monthly jobs report as unreliable and frequently overstated, warning that it misleads key economic decision-makers from Washington to Wall Street.
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“How on earth are businesses supposed to plan – or how is the Fed supposed to conduct monetary policy – when they don’t know how many jobs are being added or lost in our economy? It’s a serious problem that needs to be fixed immediately,” Antoni told FOX Business.
“Until it is corrected, the BLS should suspend issuing the monthly job reports but keep publishing the more accurate, though less timely, quarterly data,” he said, adding, “Major decision-makers from Wall Street to D.C. rely on these numbers, and a lack of confidence in the data has far-reaching consequences.”
Antoni, the Heritage Foundation’s chief economist, must face Senate confirmation before ascending to the top spot at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE,” Trump wrote in an Aug. 12 Truth Social post announcing Antoni’s nomination. “I know E.J. Antoni will do an incredible job in this new role. Congratulations E.J.!”
Antoni and The Heritage Foundation did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
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Antoni’s appointment follows Trump’s abrupt dismissal of the agency’s former commissioner, Erika McEntarfer. Her removal came hours after the agency released new data showing that job growth had been significantly overstated. The bureau revised its May and June figures downward by 258,000 jobs, marking an unusually large correction that drew sharp criticism from Trump.
“In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad,” Trump wrote in an Aug. 1 Truth Social post.
Antoni told FOX Business that he doesn’t believe the jobs data was intentionally manipulated, as some have suggested, but instead argues that persistent flaws in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ methodology have gone unaddressed.
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He pointed to a declining response rate – now below 50% – as a key factor contributing to inaccuracies, saying that “no one in a position of power fixed the problems in the data.”
“The problems in the BLS data have been evident for three years now, and they still haven’t been fixed,” Antoni said.
“The fact that you consistently have large downward revisions means that there are other things wrong with your models and methodologies. Statistical assumptions that may have worked fine before COVID no longer work in today’s economy and therefore need to be revised.”