How Flawed Jobs Data Influences Fed Rate Policy

Accurate information on the jobs market and inflation is critical for U.S. policymakers; it’s the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) core mission. In recent years, the bureau has faced scrutiny over claims that its jobs data may be unreliable and biased. That pressure intensified on Sept. 9 when the BLS issued its largest-ever revision, retroactively lowering jobs growth by 911,000 for the 12 months ending in March 2025. The Trump administration criticized the revision, which showed the U.S. economy added nearly 76,000 fewer jobs per month than first reported, mostly under the Biden administration. “President [Donald] Trump was right: Biden’s economy was a disaster and the BLS is broken,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Sept. 9....