On Wednesday, former President Trump baselessly accused the Biden administration of orchestrating a pro-Democrat conspiracy in response to a revised federal jobs report.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that, between March 2023 and March 2024, the U.S. economy had 818,000 fewer jobs added than initially reported. This adjustment, the largest since 2009, reduced last year’s job growth by 0.5 percent from previous estimates. Revisions of this scale are unusual, with typical adjustments being around 0.1 percent.
Trump baselessly accuses the Biden administration of orchestrating a conspiracy to manipulate job statistics
Economists had anticipated such a revision, predicting a loss of up to 1 million jobs from the original figures. The BLS updates job statistics with new data that comes in after monthly reports are published.
Despite these facts, Trump claimed without evidence that the revision was part of a scheme by President Biden and Vice President Harris to distort economic data. On Truth Social, Trump declared, “MASSIVE SCANDAL! The Harris-Biden Administration has been caught fraudulently manipulating Job Statistics to hide the true extent of the Economic Ruin they have inflicted upon America.” He further alleged that the administration had “PADDED THE NUMBERS” with non-existent jobs.
The BLS operates as an independent agency within the Labor Department, staffed by career professionals, with no evidence of unethical behavior from either the Biden administration or BLS employees. Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, praised the BLS for its professionalism and transparency. Ernie Tedeschi, a former chief White House economist, noted similar downward revisions occurred during Trump’s presidency.
This correction may heighten concerns about the Federal Reserve’s ability to manage interest rates, which remain at a 23-year high. Trump has continued to criticize the current administration’s economic policies, predicting economic collapse if Biden and Harris remain in power, while promoting his own economic vision as a solution.
