President Donald Trump has fired the official who oversees the monthly jobs report, claiming it was “RIGGED” to make him look bad. However, economists and Wall Street investors have long considered the data reliable.
The revised July jobs report showed weak hiring in July and nearly stagnant employment figures in May and June. The BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, who Trump appointed, suggested changes to improve accuracy but was overruled.
Experts say it’s difficult to tamper with the numbers, given hundreds of economists and statisticians involved in compiling the report. “It is very, very difficult to interfere with these numbers,” said Elaine Chao, former Labor secretary.
The government revises job figures every month due to late submissions from companies and needs to balance cost, speed, and accuracy. Revisions can be larger during economic turning points, such as expansions or recessions.
Critics of the data point out declining response rates, with about 40% of companies surveyed by BLS responding now compared to 60% a decade ago. This trend has been observed internationally, including in the UK, which suspended publication of an official unemployment rate due to falling responses.
As Congress decides on investments for modernizing data collection, Trump’s criticism of the jobs data highlights concerns about the accuracy and reliability of government statistics.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/trump-bls-jobs-report-data-0f0a81b9c9320359370976a529c5c9e3