Erin Scott/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General said Wednesday it is reviewing the “challenges” that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is facing in its data-collection efforts.
The internal watchdog, in a letter, said it was initiating that probe after BLS announced a reduction in its data collection for two key inflation metrics.
The review also comes in light of BLS recently issuing a “large downward revision of its estimate of new jobs in the monthly Employment Situation Report,” assistant inspector general for audit Laura Nicolosi wrote.
Read the full letter here.
The Labor Department in a preliminary report Tuesday revised jobs data sharply downward for the year ending March 2025, posting a drop of 911,000 from initial estimates. The revisions were the largest on record in more than two decades.
Wednesday’s letter was addressed to William Wiatrowski, who has served as BLS’ acting commissioner since President Donald Trump fired the agency’s former head in early August in response to a weak monthly jobs report.
“Our focus will be on the challenges and related mitigating strategies for (1) collecting PPI and CPI data, and (2) collecting and reporting, including revising, monthly employment data,” Nicolosi wrote.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
