Karoline Leavitt Says It’s ‘The Hope’ That the Trump Admin Will Keep Releasing Jobs Reports Under New Labor Stats Chief
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not commit to job reports continuing to be put out monthly, only saying it was “the hope” of the administration that the releases will continue following a major shakeup.
At a Tuesday White House press conference, Real Clear Politics’ Philip Wegmann asked Leavitt if monthly jobs reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics would continue after EJ Antoni, the nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said reports would not be released until the data is “corrected.”
Leavitt said:
Well, look, what I’ll tell you about the Bureau of Labor Statistics, I believe that is the plan and the hope and that these monthly reports will be data that the American people can trust. As you know, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has made massive revisions after the last several reports they have put out. And there has certainly been a decline in the quality and reliability of data from the Department of Labor Statistics, and there’s been an increase in revisions.
And this president and this administration is finally tackling this problem that so many have talked about, and the president is actually doing something about it. We need to restore a new leadership that we can trust. As you know, the president has appointed someone new to take over the BLS and so we need to look at the means and the methods of how the United States is acquiring this very important data. And all of that is going to be done and the goal, of course, is to provide honest and good data for the American people to make very important economic decisions on.
Antoni was nominated to the BLS role after Trump fired Dr. Erika McEntarfer from the position following an unflattering jobs report in July. Trump claimed McEntarfer, an appointee from former President Joe Biden, “faked” the numbers.
Antoni said in an interview with Fox Business that the administration may be relying on quarterly data rather than monthly reports, as they have been doing.
“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,” he said. “Until it is corrected, the BLS should suspend issuing the monthly job reports but keep publishing the more accurate, though less timely, quarterly data.”
On Tuesday, Leavitt addressed Antoni’s comments directly, saying he was “floating” the idea of suspending official jobs reports. She also touted the credentials of Antoni, a chief economist with the Heritage Foundation, calling him “widely renowned.”
“I think he floated the idea of possibly suspending until they can get the data and the methodology in order,” she said. “And this president wants to ensure the BLS is, again, putting out accurate, honest data that the American people can trust.
Watch above via Fox News.
