Ex-BLS Commissioner: Trump's Claims of 'Rigged' Jobs Report Are Baseless

Independence of the BLS Commissioner

• 🚫 The former BLS Commissioner, William Beach, states there is no way for the commissioner to rig the jobs report numbers.
• ⏱️ Commissioners do not collect data and only see the prepared, locked numbers on Wednesday before publication, with their role limited to editing the text.
• 🔒 The commissioner can even be locked out of the process where data collectors are working.

Understanding Jobs Report Revisions

• 📊 President Trump was reportedly upset by the revisions to May and June jobs numbers, but these are standard practice.
• 📈 Revisions occur because the BLS uses a survey with a sample of businesses, and they keep the door open for two months to receive more returns.
• 🔄 The jobs report numbers are revised two more times after the initial publication, a process that has become more accurate over the past 20-30 years.

Impact of Political Interference

• 📉 Attacking the BLS commissioner and the bureau undermines credibility and the statistical system.
• ⚠️ Even if a new, highly competent commissioner is appointed, any perceived 'bad number' will be suspected of political influence, damaging trust.
• 🗣️ Beach urges the president to back off his rhetoric to prevent long-term damage to the BLS infrastructure.

Role of the BLS Commissioner

• 🏛️ While some statistical agencies are run by non-political people, the BLS commissioner is a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position.
• 🤝 This appointment allows the commissioner to engage with the Secretary of Labor and White House officials to understand priorities.
• 🎯 The commissioner can then guide the bureau to produce more information on specific demographics or topics of interest to the administration, reflecting the elected government's focus.