Donald Trump fired chief labor statistician Erika McEntarfer, prompting criticism from former BLS head William Beach, who stated the move would damage trust in economic data. Beach argued there was no justification for the dismissal, emphasizing that it undermines the Bureau of Labor Statistics' credibility. He also noted that despite challenges, current data accuracy is better than in previous decades. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan commented on the issue, suggesting the government should improve data collection to avoid revisions that generate consumer skepticism about economic reports.
This is damaging. I don't know that there's any grounds at all for this firing. And it really hurts the statistical system. It undermines credibility in BLS.
We watch what consumers really do. We watch what businesses really do. They can get this data, I think, other ways, and I think that's where the focus would be.
The revision for May and June data, while not unusual, was one of the largest in seven years. That creates doubt around it.
Studies indicate that the agency's data is more accurate than 20 or 30 years ago, including any revisions of the initial data.
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