Labor Department watchdog opens probe of BLS jobs, inflation data collection [View all]

Source: CNBC

Published Wed, Sep 10 2025 10:51 AM EDT Updated 17 Min Ago


The Labor Department’s internal watchdog said Wednesday it has opened an investigation into how jobs and inflation data is collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The probe by the department’s Office of Inspector General comes as BLS is under pressure from the Trump administration, which has pointed to recent downward revisions to employment data to argue that the agency’s data cannot be trusted.

President Donald Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in August, accusing her of being motivated by politics hours after her agency released a weak monthly jobs report.

The inspector general is a nonpolitical appointee whose office is independently staffed and legally insulated from interference by the Labor secretary or other political appouintees. The office is currently being led by acting deputy Inspector General Michael Mikulka, according the Labor Department’s website.

In a letter sent Wednesday morning, the watchdog said it “is initiating a review of the challenges” that BLS “encounters collecting and reporting closely watched economic data.”

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/10/trump-bls-jobs-data-labor.html