Department of Labor Survey on Employment Data Collection

On Wednesday, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a survey examining how employment, inflation, and other data are gathered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The Trump administration has pointed to a recent downward revision of BLS employment data, arguing that it indicates the Bureau isn’t accurately reflecting the current state of the economy.

In August, President Donald Trump dismissed BLS Commissioner Erica Mantelfer, alleging political bias following a monthly employment report. He subsequently nominated economist Eji Antoni, known for his criticism of the department’s data collection practices, as her replacement.

The DOL OIG stated it is looking into the “challenges” of collecting and reporting economic data it is monitoring closely.

Advisor Laura Nicolosi indicated that the review would commence after what she termed a “massive downward revision” of new employment estimates in the monthly report. This revision came after DOL adjusted employment figures downward significantly at the end of March 2025, initially estimating over 900,000 job declines.

John Carney from Breitbart News noted in his analysis that such data revisions counter the optimism surrounding “Bidenomics.”

Last year’s revisions eliminated nearly 600,000 jobs from the total for the fiscal year ending March 2024. This marks two consecutive years where the government’s key job statistics have portrayed a more favorable picture than what reality suggests. Critics have said this dissonance indicates that voters’ concerns were justified. Official statistics appear misleading.

What complicates the matter further is the consistent pattern of these revisions. In February 2025, BLS implemented nearly 600,000 downward adjustments from the previous year. For two years, governmental data has overstated the strength of the labor market.

This situation isn’t merely a psychological issue among voters, nor is it simply that the GOP narrative resonates more deeply with the public. It seems to stem from measurement discrepancies between government analysts and statisticians.

Many believe that Trump’s return to the political scene is partly due to this disconnect. Voters appear to have grasped the reality before many statisticians did.

The OIG’s focus centers on “1) the collection of PPI and CPI data and (2) challenges related to the monthly employment data collection and reporting, alongside mitigation strategies.”

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-Deremer commented on Tuesday that the negative revision of BLS data should raise further doubts regarding the integrity of published statistics.

“It’s crucial that the data remains accurate and impartial, and not swayed by political agendas,” Deremer remarked.