President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni, is facing backlash after reports that he would consider suspending the crucial monthly jobs report, calling it flawed.
“How on earth are businesses supposed to plan – or how is the Fed supposed to conduct monetary policy – when they don’t know how many jobs are being added or lost in our economy? It’s a serious problem that needs to be fixed immediately,” Antoni told Fox Business.
His solution is to publish the data less often—a move that could send shockwaves through the business world.
“Until it is corrected, the BLS should suspend issuing the monthly job reports but keep publishing the more accurate, though less timely, quarterly data,” he said. “Major decision-makers from Wall Street to D.C. rely on these numbers, and a lack of confidence in the data has far-reaching consequences.”
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President Trump fired the previous Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, after the BLS released downward revisions of more than 250,000 for April and May.
“I was just informed that our Country’s ‘Jobs Numbers’ are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer,” Trump wrote in an August 1 social media post, baselessly accusing her of having “faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory.”
The 141-year-old Bureau of Labor Statistics is an independent statistical agency and part of the U.S. Department of Labor. Installing what critics are calling a highly partisan commissioner would be unprecedented in modern times.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich issued a warning: “The independence of the Bureau of Labor Statistics is vital. If politicized, it can’t be trusted as a source of information. Who did Trump just put in charge of the agency? E.J. Antoni — chief economist at the Heritage Foundation and contributor to Project 2025.”
“On top of being the Heritage Foundation’s Chief Economist, E.J. Antoni is literally the 5th Contributor named in Project 2025,” noted journalist Ahmed Baba. “You can’t make this up. Trump is seeking to put the BLS — and America’s economic data — in the hands of a Project 2025 extremist.”
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Economics writer Joey Politano wrote: “An ‘economist’ so dumb I had to explain to him how the import price index works last month will now lead the BLS…”
Former Obama White House Chief Economist Jason Furman, a professor of economics remarked: “I don’t think I have ever publicly criticized any Presidential nominee before. But E.J. Antoni is completely unqualified to be BLS Commissioner. He is an extreme partisan and does not have any relevant expertise. He would be a break from decades of nonpartisan technocrats.”
The Atlantic’s Dr. Norman Ornstein, a political scientist warned: “Be sure to absorb the latest inflation and jobs reports from BLS. They are the last accurate ones you will see at least for the next 3+ years.”
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) wrote: “Installing a crank economist to only publish favorable or distorted data on the economy (inflation, jobs numbers, etc.) Textbook authoritarianism – mum from my GOP colleagues.”
“Can’t have bad jobs numbers if there are no jobs numbers,” snarked Aaron Fritschner, Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).
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