President Donald J. Trump’s latest pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is now reportedly calling for a fundamental shift in how the agency reports on the health of the job market — one that prioritizes accuracy over headline-making speed.
E.J. Antoni, a seasoned economist and Trump’s choice to head the agency, suggested that the BLS should temporarily halt its release of monthly jobs reports in favor of more precise, quarterly data.
“Major decisionmakers from Wall Street to D.C. rely on these numbers, and a lack of confidence in the data has far-reaching consequences,” Antoni told Fox News Digital earlier this month.
The nomination comes at a moment of heightened scrutiny of the agency’s methods. Last month’s disappointing July jobs report — which revealed meager job growth alongside steep downward revisions to May and June — fueled concerns about the reliability of BLS statistics.
Those revisions showed that over the past three months, the U.S. economy added roughly 100,000 jobs, far below the level economists generally agree is necessary to keep unemployment from climbing.
President Trump responded swiftly, dismissing then-BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on the day the report was released. He accused the agency of “manipulating jobs data to make Republicans look bad and hide Democratic mismanagement of the economy.”
While the BLS denies political interference is possible under its methodology, the president and his allies argue that the agency’s recent track record raises valid concerns about both accuracy and transparency.
Antoni, currently the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, has long been critical of how the Biden administration’s Labor Department presents economic data.
In a May op-ed, he accused officials of downplaying the struggles of working families while promoting “misleading (and often inaccurate) statistics… to convince Americans not to believe their lying eyes or empty wallets.”
Supporters see Antoni’s nomination as a chance to restore confidence in economic reporting, arguing that the integrity of federal statistics is vital to informed policymaking.
The monthly jobs report has long been treated as a political bellwether — moving markets and shaping public perception — but Antoni believes that if its accuracy is compromised, its influence can become misleading or even harmful.
Critics, including some conservative economists, have questioned Antoni’s readiness for the role.
They argue that the BLS, while not perfect, operates within one of the most rigorous statistical frameworks in government, and that its frequent revisions are a sign of transparency, not manipulation.
Nevertheless, with Republicans holding a Senate majority, Antoni’s confirmation is expected to proceed smoothly.
His appointment would give Trump an ally in a key agency whose reports shape public understanding of employment and inflation — and whose credibility will be critical as the administration prepares for a second term.
For Trump’s supporters, this is about more than statistics. It’s about ensuring that economic reality — not political spin — drives the numbers Americans see.
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