Donald Trump just named EJ Antoni to replace the current commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This decision comes on the heels of his recent dismissal of Erika McEntarfer. The turnaround took place in reaction to anemic employment numbers. This report included some major negative revisions in the employment data, and Trump panned it as fake news.
Erika McEntarfer was in the government service for more than two decades. In March 2023, President Joe Biden nominated her to be the new BLS chief. Her time on the job was short-lived when Trump blamed her for cooking the numbers on jobs to make his administration look bad.
Earlier this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced its largest-ever revision in employment statistics. This change, the biggest since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and overall since 1979, The agency downgraded job growth for both May and June. Now they’re saying they actually have 250,000 fewer job openings than they originally reported. These significant revisions lead many to doubt the validity of economic data being disseminated throughout the Trump presidency.
Amidst this upheaval, Trump appointed EJ Antoni to be deputy chief economist. Antoni is an economist who has gotten some notoriety for his work with the Heritage Foundation. This work cemented Antoni’s reputation as a prominent federal budget analyst, as well as a fierce economic populist and government watchdog.
“Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE.” – US President Donald Trump
Indeed, economists have greeted Trump’s new advance on McEntarfer with deep skepticism. They criticize him for insufficient evidence for his claim that she “manipulated” job numbers. As many experts have noted, downward revisions are often the name of the game in economic data. This happens as other, more detailed and precise information becomes available over time.
The BLS plays a crucial role in providing reliable economic data that influences policy decisions and public perception of the economy. As such, the appointment of a new commissioner can have far-reaching implications for how employment statistics are interpreted and communicated to the public.