President Trump’s recent choice for leading the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has sparked controversy, as he suggested pausing the release of monthly employment data due to concerns over its accuracy.
EJ Antoni, nominated by Trump, stated that the BLS should “suspend monthly employment reports” but would focus on enhancing quarterly data accuracy. This is a rather bold move, considering how much decision-makers—from Wall Street to Washington—depend on this information.
“There’s a serious lack of confidence in the figures, and it can affect everything,” he shared with Fox Business.
Antoni, currently serving as the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, takes over after the president dismissed the former BLS head, Erica Mantelfer. The dismissal followed some troubling employment figures released earlier, which not only showed diminished job growth but also included downward corrections for previous months. The reports indicated a mere addition of about 100,000 jobs over the past quarter, a figure many economists believe is insufficient to stave off an increase in unemployment.
The president criticized Mantelfer, alleging that she distorted employment data to paint Republicans in a negative light while downplaying Democratic economic management. However, the specifics of these claims remain unsubstantiated, and experts from both sides of the aisle have argued that manipulating such data is nearly impossible given the methodologies used by the BLS.
It’s worth noting that the BLS routinely adjusts its employment and inflation statistics based on new data that comes in after initial reports are published. Yet, while many experts point to post-pandemic challenges in data collection as the cause of recent revisions, Antoni is among a small group of pro-Trump economists accusing the BLS of bias against Republicans.
He recently wrote that, for years, the Biden administration has been promoting the idea of a thriving economy, while his views suggest otherwise, claiming that numerous jobs credited to the previous administration were essentially fabricated.
His statements have raised eyebrows, especially as he insinuates that the economic struggles faced by families were overlooked in favor of misleading statistical narratives designed to convince people that their circumstances weren’t as dire as they felt.
With Antoni’s connection to Trump’s Project 2025, many expect that he’ll receive swift confirmation from the Senate, which currently holds a Republican majority. But there’s concern—his influence on the BLS might alter the way employment and inflation data are reported, especially if he changes how frequently these reports come out or how they are compiled.
Critics, including economists from various backgrounds, have expressed unease, remarking that his claims are often misleading and cater to a narrative aligning with Trump’s policies while disparaging Democrats.
Alan Cole, an economist from the conservative Tax Foundation, pointed out on social media that Antoni’s commentary on labor statistics lacked substance compared to experienced predecessors. Similarly, Kyle Pomerleau, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, echoed this sentiment, suggesting that there are other qualified conservative economists better suited for the role.
