Trump’s new pick to run the Bureau of Labor Statistics casually floated ending its monthly jobs reports, one of the most closely watched economic indicators that businesses and policymakers rely on, in an interview released Tuesday.
The critical economic indicator came under fire recently after the previous BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, issued a report earlier this month showing that the U.S. saw weaker-than-expected job growth in July, as well as downward revisions of job gains in May and June.
Trump did not like those numbers, and called them a “scam.” Within days, he fired McEntarfer and then later nominated E.J. Antoni, The Heritage Foundation’s chief economist — who helped write Project 2025 — to serve in her place.
Shortly before his nomination, Antoni suggested ending the monthly report that caught Trump’s ire.
“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 told Fox News.
Revisions for these reports are common. The BLS often updates its data when it’s provided with more information from businesses and agencies. While the people who regularly use these reports know that’s how they work, Antoni argued that the bureau is misleading the public and the methodology it uses is fundamentally flawed.
“The fact that you consistently have large downward revisions means that there are other things wrong with your models and methodologies,” he said. “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.”
He was right to acknowledge that these figures are a fundamental pillar of U.S. economic policymaking and investing. Monthly jobs reports don’t just provide data points. They guide policymakers and investors with updated projections — and markets immediately respond to them.
Antoni has long been a critic of BLS, but his desire to overhaul these reports could make his nomination, already embroiled with criticism about his qualifications, that much more complicated.
Economists have grown increasingly concerned with how Trump’s administration handles and collects any data — especially when those figures could be used to contradict Trump’s assertions that the U.S. economy is “BOOMING.”
In addition to putting up Antoni, Trump has gone after BLS in other ways: He asked Congress to cut $56 million from the agency, an 8% reduction to its operating funds. The agency has already had to scale back some of its data collection efforts to measure the Consumer Price Index, given strained staffing and resource shortages.
Antoni’s confirmation will face votes in the Senate when members return from their recess. The office of Bill Cassidy, the chair of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said the Louisiana senator would meet with Antoni to discuss the importance of BLS statistics.
“We need a BLS Commissioner committed to producing accurate, unbiased economic information to the American people,” Cassidy’s spokesperson told Politico. “Chairman Cassidy looks forward to meeting with Dr. Antoni to discuss how he will accomplish this.”