Trump’s pick for BLS commissioner endorses suspending monthly jobs reports

E.J. Antoni, the chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, whom Trump nominated Monday to lead the federal statistical agency, has repeatedly criticized large revisions to monthly jobs reports under the former commissioner, questioning the legitimacy of the agency’s data over the past year. There is no evidence that the agency has manipulated the data, several former BLS commissioners told The Washington Post.

“Until it is corrected, the BLS should suspend issuing the monthly job reports but keep publishing the more accurate, though less timely, quarterly data,” Antoni said, referring to recent large revisions to monthly jobs data. “Major decision-makers from Wall Street to D.C. rely on these numbers, and a lack of confidence in the data has far-reaching consequences.”