The report was the latest in a series of recent hard data showing potential negative effects of Trump's new tariffs, which many economists predict will shrink growth and inflate prices.
Trump, his labor secretary, and a few Republicans say the bureau chief, a Biden appointee's numbers look politically motivated.
Most others say the reports are objective, even if they are not accurate, and it's Trump's move that was politically motivated and will even further erode the confidence in the parts of government that are the least political - that this is a case of shooting the messenger - and sends a dangerous signal that others had better tell Trump what he wants to hear - or lose your job.
The bureau's explanation of the unusually large downward provision is, as follows:
Early versions of the jobs report rely on larger firms that respond quickly, while responses from smaller businesses — often more affected by economic headwinds — filter in later. As their data is added, job totals have been steadily revised downward, painting a grimmer picture of the labor market than earlier reports suggested. In June, much of the revision was linked to state and local education jobs, whose numbers dropped dramatically after updated data came in.
Earlier Friday, the bureau said an educational issue may have been the biggest driver of the most recent revisions. For June alone, the department downwardly revised nonfarm payrolls by 133,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis, “largely the result of routine incorporation of additional/corrected sample that came in after the initial release,” a department spokeswoman said in a written statement. The revision, she added, was concentrated within state and local government education, contributing to about 40 percent of the total downward shift.
MY TAKE
I too am troubled by the precedent it sets when a president fires someone immediately after they deliver a bad economic report. If there is suspicion of a political spin in the report, that should be investigated internally and if and only if that suspicion is confirmed with good evidence should the person be fired for cause. That evidence should be presented to the public when the firing occurs, after due diligence.
I'm afraid this president acts too frequently on impulse, and sometimes, those impulses need checked.
Ralph Bristol is the former long-time morning talk radio host broadcasting on Supertalk 99.7 WTN. He was one of the less provocative and bombastic of conservative radio personalities, more thoughtful and grounded in conservative ideas. He left talk radio in 2018 and retired. He lives in Nashville.
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