US: Labor Data Agency Was Struggling Even Before Trump

The dismissal of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by Donald Trump has highlighted deeper issues within the agency, which is vital for capturing the state of the US economy.

Funding and staffing cuts had already hampered the BLS's ability to collect essential data. Decisions to discontinue data collection in several cities had raised concerns among economists.

David Hiles, a former senior economist at the BLS, stated that the agency is facing problems due to underinvestment and a federal hiring freeze.

The BLS compiles the monthly employment report and the Consumer Price Index (CPI). However, an increasing number of prices for the CPI are no longer directly collected by BLS staff, increasing the percentage of data points estimated from other cities.

The agency faces an 8% budget cut and staff reductions, which are expected to exacerbate the problems.

Concerns about the standards of US statistical agencies had increased since Trump initiated funding cuts.