US President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is nominating economist E.J. Antoni as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10 days after firing the previous head following weak labor market results, accusing Antoni of manipulating the figures without evidence.

Antoni currently serves as chief economist at the influential conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation. He has criticized the BLS, the Labor Department's statistical arm, whose monthly data on labor market conditions and inflation is consumed by a global audience of economists, investors, business leaders, public policymakers, and consumers.

The release of such data routinely has a real and immediate impact on stock, bond, and currency markets worldwide. "Our economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the numbers are HONEST and ACCURATE," Trump said on Truth Social. Last year, Antoni wrote an opinion piece in the New York Post, stating, "The Biden-Harris Department of Labor appears to be in a fantasy world." This comes after the BLS released data projecting a sharp downward revision of the employment rate from April 2023 to March 2024.

The nomination of Antoni, who contributed to "Project 2025," a controversial conservative plan to overhaul the government, was met with skepticism from economists. "The nomination will result in a surge in demand for private label data," said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US. Groundwork Collaborative's head of policy and advocacy, Alex Jacquez, called Antoni a "sycophant," adding that his selection represents "a clear attack on independent analysis that will have broad implications for the reliability of U.S. economic data."

Antoni, who must be confirmed by the Senate, will take over an agency that has come under intense scrutiny for the declining quality of its data. Trump added to growing concerns about the reliability of the BLS and other federal government economic data when he fired Erika McEntarfer as BLS commissioner on August 1. His dismissal came hours after the agency reported much weaker-than-expected job growth for July and issued the largest revisions in history to its employment figures for May and June. (alg)

Source: Reuters