On Thursday night, President Trump seemingly preempted his own agency by sharing new job figures just hours ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releasing their official numbers. He posted a chart on Truth Social indicating that the private sector had gained 654,000 jobs since January, even as federal employment numbers dropped significantly. This figure represents all job creation during that period.
The statistics he shared aligned with the BLS’s report, which came out around 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, approximately twelve hours after Trump’s announcement. His posts were initially noted by Bloomberg.
A White House official later explained, “Following the normal procedure for the President to be informed of economic data releases, some aggregated data, which included pre-release information, was accidentally shared.” They added that the situation is prompting a review of their procedures on such economic data.
The statement went on to suggest that instead of creating unfounded controversies, media outlets should focus on what the jobs report indicates: that Trump’s policies are supposedly setting the groundwork for an economic recovery, supported by GDP and wage growth.
While Trump’s social media post didn’t provide specific payroll figures for the previous month, Bloomberg pointed out that it might have hinted at the overall trends for investors. They calculated that private employers added approximately 687,000 jobs from January through November. Meanwhile, the BLS reported that, accounting for federal job losses, employers added 525,000 jobs for all of 2025.
Since taking office, Trump has consistently faced scrutiny regarding his management of government information, some of which falls under high security. Back in 2018, he tweeted about upcoming employment figures just an hour before their release, a move that surprised many as it departed from traditional presidential norms.
Later, in 2019, he shared classified imagery from a reconnaissance satellite, raising eyebrows once again. More recently, in 2022, a box of classified documents was found at his Mar-a-Lago residence, sparking a federal investigation, which was often labeled as politically motivated but ultimately closed after he won the 2024 election.
Representatives from the National Archives noted that every administration since Ronald Reagan has mishandled classified documents at some point during their terms.
