Why were US job numbers which riled Trump revised down by so much?

August 4, 2025

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner was fired by President Donald Trump after the department revised down recent job numbers by more than 250,000, with Trump claiming the figures were "rigged" to make his administration "look bad. " Despite the unusually large revisions for May and June 2024, experts explain that such adjustments are normal practice as the BLS routinely updates preliminary figures as more complete data becomes available. Former commissioners emphasize that the BLS head plays no role in collecting or calculating the numbers, only reviewing the final press release.

Who is affected

The fired head of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Career staff at the BLS who collect and process employment data
The Trump administration's public image regarding economic performance
The American public who rely on accurate employment statistics
Analysts and policymakers who use BLS data to make economic assessments

What action is being taken

The BLS is continuing its standard practice of updating preliminary job figures as more complete data becomes available
The bureau is addressing declining survey response rates, which have dropped to less than 43% for the establishment survey compared to over 60% a decade ago
Some efforts are being made to explore new methods of data collection, including web-based surveys
Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco are reviewing the reliability of BLS data revisions

Why it matters

The incident raises concerns about political interference in statistical agencies that are meant to operate independently
The integrity of economic data that informs government policy and business decisions is being questioned
Large revisions to job numbers can significantly alter perceptions of economic performance
Declining response rates to BLS surveys potentially threaten the reliability of employment statistics
The politicization of economic data could undermine public trust in government statistics

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC