White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt listens to a question from a reporter during a press briefing in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
At a briefing on Tuesday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the Trump administration's controversial stance on revisions to job data.
A reporter asked Leavitt: “If the jobs data is not reliable, should Americans trust the inflation data?” She responded: “The jobs data has had massive revisions. We want to ensure that all of the data ... coming out of the BLS is trustworthy and is accurate, which is why the president has restored new leadership at the BLS [Bureau of Labor Statistics].”
President Donald Trump recently dismissed BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after she oversaw data showing only 73,000 new jobs in July and a combined downward revision of 258,000 jobs for May and June.
Following up, reporters questioned whether monthly jobs reports would continue. Leavitt said, “I believe that is the plan and the hope… We need to look at the methods of how the United States is acquiring this data. The goal of course is to provide an honest and good data for the American people to make important economic decisions on.”
Trump’s nominee to lead the BLS, E.J. Antoni, has proposed suspending the monthly jobs report in favor of quarterly releases, citing concerns about frequent and sizable data revisions.
Meanwhile, Leavitt's remarks were criticized on social media.
Political commentator Fred Wellman wrote on the social platform X: "The jobs data is always revised. That's literally the system. There are layers to the reporting all year to build accuracy. She is lying. This is all lies. She knows she is lying."
CNN reporter Aaron Blake wrote: "'The plan and the hope' is not a commitment."
“I’m old enough to remember when Republicans said ‘Hope is not a strategy,’” wrote a user.
"Unfortunately we can't Trust the administrations #'s on anything anymore. Trump is getting rid of any independent thinkers, watchdogs and analysts," said another user.
Watch the video of Leavitt's remarks below, or by clicking this link.
Reporter: Will the bureau of labor statistics continue to put out monthly jobs reports?
Leavitt: I believe that is the plan and the hope… We need to look at the methods of how the United States is acquiring this data. The goal of course is to provide an honest and good data for… pic.twitter.com/ppzh5dGSTx
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 12, 2025
Reporter: If the job data is not reliable, should Americans trust the inflation data? pic.twitter.com/FYeleMiF7Z
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 12, 2025