Economic Data Goes Up in Smoke Under Trump Administration
A major blow to transparency has been struck by the Trump administration, which announced that several key U.S. economic data points for October will not be released, citing the government shutdown as the reason. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was unable to gather or verify essential information during the 40-plus day shutdown.
The White House claimed that Democrats' refusal to agree to their budget demands was responsible for the delay, and that the opposition had "permanently damaged the federal statistical system." This decision effectively means that all the economic data will be "permanently impaired," leaving policymakers without crucial information about inflation rates, employment figures, and more.
Critics, including Democratic lawmakers, have panned this move as an attempt to cover up bad economic news. Representative Shri Thanedar from Michigan wrote on social media, "Americans know the economy is bad... Trump is trying to cover up the numbers." Others like Ron Filpowski, editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch, have accused the administration of using the shutdown as a smokescreen.
The BLS typically conducts two surveys each month – one for business data and another for household employment status. While some business-side data can be reconstructed, officials say that the household survey was impossible to conduct retroactively without risking unreliable results. As a result, much of the critical information will remain unknown.
To make matters worse, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported earlier this month that U.S. employers cut more than 150,000 jobs in October, the worst record in over 20 years. Representative Jason Crow from Colorado wrote on X about this dismal economic report, "153,000 jobs lost last month... Higher prices and fewer jobs."
While Kevin Hassett, head of the National Economic Council, hinted that some data might be released, it's unclear what specific points will make it out alive. "We'll never actually know for sure what the unemployment rate was in October," he said.
The decision to withhold this critical information raises serious questions about transparency and accountability under the Trump administration.
A major blow to transparency has been struck by the Trump administration, which announced that several key U.S. economic data points for October will not be released, citing the government shutdown as the reason. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was unable to gather or verify essential information during the 40-plus day shutdown.
The White House claimed that Democrats' refusal to agree to their budget demands was responsible for the delay, and that the opposition had "permanently damaged the federal statistical system." This decision effectively means that all the economic data will be "permanently impaired," leaving policymakers without crucial information about inflation rates, employment figures, and more.
Critics, including Democratic lawmakers, have panned this move as an attempt to cover up bad economic news. Representative Shri Thanedar from Michigan wrote on social media, "Americans know the economy is bad... Trump is trying to cover up the numbers." Others like Ron Filpowski, editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch, have accused the administration of using the shutdown as a smokescreen.
The BLS typically conducts two surveys each month – one for business data and another for household employment status. While some business-side data can be reconstructed, officials say that the household survey was impossible to conduct retroactively without risking unreliable results. As a result, much of the critical information will remain unknown.
To make matters worse, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported earlier this month that U.S. employers cut more than 150,000 jobs in October, the worst record in over 20 years. Representative Jason Crow from Colorado wrote on X about this dismal economic report, "153,000 jobs lost last month... Higher prices and fewer jobs."
While Kevin Hassett, head of the National Economic Council, hinted that some data might be released, it's unclear what specific points will make it out alive. "We'll never actually know for sure what the unemployment rate was in October," he said.
The decision to withhold this critical information raises serious questions about transparency and accountability under the Trump administration.
The government shutdown is super sketchy, man... I mean, come on, you can't just ignore economic data like that. What's next? Withholding vaccination numbers or something? 
It's like they're trying to cover up some major issues. 153k jobs lost in one month is a big deal, and yet nobody knows the exact unemployment rate because of this shutdown. That's not transparency, bro... it's like hiding behind a smoke screen 
Can you believe this? They're hiding the real numbers behind a government shutdown 
Like, what's really going on with inflation and employment rates? We deserve better than guesswork and spin 
The US economy is already struggling, and now we can't even get reliable data to understand it? 
It's like they're playing hide-and-seek with our economic future 
. I mean, what happens when the truth comes out? 
Will there be a backlash from investors, policymakers, or just average Americans who are already feeling the pinch? 
This whole thing is super shady 
and we need to keep an eye on it 
! Can't believe they're just going to hide all that economic data like that 
. They're just trying to cover up the fact that things aren't looking so good economically 
.
. I'm not buying all that "we'll release some data eventually" talk from Kevin Hassett either 
. It's just a smokescreen at this point.
. This is exactly why people distrust politicians so much... they can't even be honest about simple economic facts 
They gotta be more transparent about things like unemployment rates and inflation... 
