The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is an independent government agency within the Department of Labor. Most recently, it uncovered that U.S. employers added 911,000 fewer jobs over the 12 months ending in March 2025 than previously estimated. This last minute revision represents the biggest downward adjustment ever recorded. Most importantly, it underscores the fundamental unreliability of economic data, given that the BLS regularly acknowledges monthly survey estimates compared to state unemployment data.
Similar to its monthly release of jobs and other economic indicators, the BLS included this revision in its ongoing tracking. That’s in addition to key reports on hiring and inflation. The announcement has drawn sharp criticism from various political figures, including former President Donald Trump, who expressed frustration over the scale of adjustments. Trump claimed that the adjustments indicate a manipulation of statistics for political purposes, asserting that “the numbers were phony just like they were before the election.”
In a statement reflecting on the revision, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, “Today, the BLS released the largest downward revision on record proving that President Trump was right: Biden’s economy was a disaster and the BLS is broken.” Leavitt emphasized the need for new leadership to restore confidence in the BLS data, which is vital for financial markets, businesses, policymakers, and families making significant decisions.
The recent revision has taken place amid dramatic political efforts at the BLS. Scapegoat Erika McEntarfer, the current commissioner, was fired by Trump last month. She is indeed a Biden appointee, but she was confirmed by the Senate as late as 2024. Trump expressed her displeasure with the annual revision process on her way out the door. She accused, without evidence, McEntarfer of doctoring numbers for partisan political purposes during her entire tenure in office.
When Erika McEntarfer was dismissed from her post, she sent a message of reply celebrating her time with the BLS. “It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy,” she stated.
William Beach, a former commissioner of the BLS, condemned McEntarfer’s firing, asserting that it sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the agency’s statistical mission. He drew attention to the importance of stability and integrity within the BLS, especially in such turbulent times.
The BLS’s preliminary estimate of the net additions of new discrete jobs will be finalized next year. The current numbers show a striking gap between what we were promised and what actually happened. This change is an important one. This is even further than last year’s downward revision of hiring estimates, which was already under fire from Trump as eroding the agency’s credibility.
Together, these changes have enormous stakes. They affect economic scorecards and help define how the public interprets the administration’s economic performance. A renewed commitment to accuracy and transparency in labor statistics is still desperately needed as policymakers try to find their way through the thicket of our new, complex economy.
