The US government’s hiring freeze under President Trump has resulted in staffing shortages at the Labor Department, affecting the quality of inflation data collection for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The Bureau of Labor Statistics reduced the number of businesses it checks prices from in April due to a shortage of staff. This reduction will remain until additional staff can be hired and trained.
The CPI is a key economic dataset used by economists, investors, and policymakers to estimate inflation. With the hiring freeze, some private economists worry that the quality of the data is being compromised. The Trump administration’s decision to disband advisory boards on economic data collection has also raised concerns.
Headline inflation in April was 2.3% on an annual basis, the slowest rate in over four years. However, with the ongoing impact of tariffs and import taxes, there is a heightened focus on inflation data, which may be further affected by the hiring freeze. The next CPI report is due on June 11.
Source: https://nypost.com/2025/06/04/business/trump-hiring-freeze-hurting-quality-of-inflation-data-collection-report