Editorial: Job market revisions shows BLS needs a shake-up

Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sep 12, 2025

Published in Op Eds

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics appears to be auditioning for a new magic show on the Strip. Its showstopping trick is making nearly 1 million jobs disappear.

On Tuesday, the bureau announced its annual revision to yearly employment data. From April 2024 to March 2025, the economy added 911,000 fewer jobs than previously reported. That means the economy gained only around 850,000 jobs during that time. That’s more than a 50 percent reduction from previous estimates. Of particular note for Las Vegas, leisure and hospitality employment dropped by 176,000.

The agency had a major miss last year as well. In 2024, its annual revision lowered the number by 818,000.

Some level of change is normal. For its monthly data, the bureau relies on employment surveys, which have a response rate problem. Also, the monthly data uses assumptions regarding businesses that opened and closed. The annual data is based on information from state unemployment offices.

But misses of this magnitude are unusual. It represented a -0.6 percent adjustment. Over the past decade, the absolute value of the average annual adjustment has been 0.2 percent. As a percentage, this was the biggest miss since 2009.

Having accurate employment data remains vital. Companies need reliable information to identify the best investment opportunities. It gives individual voters a picture of how the broader economy is performing, potentially informing their personal employment decisions. It’s a factor the Federal Reserve considers when setting interest rates.

Employment data is often used by elected officials as a proxy for the success of their economic policies or the failure of their opponents’ plans. It should be noted that Joe Biden was president during most of this period. This new data shows the Biden economy was even weaker than previously thought.

The agency’s defenders claim it needs more funding and staffing. Given how Mr. Biden blew out the federal budget in so many areas, that’s not a satisfying explanation.

This revision shines a different light on President Donald Trump’s firing of the former BLS director Erika McEntarfer. At the beginning of last month, he removed her after a report showed a slowdown in hiring. At the time, many condemned the move as political, and that was a legitimate concern. It looks more justified now.

But pointing out a problem and fixing it are two different things. Time will tell if Mr. Trump’s nominee to lead the bureau, E.J. Antoni, who has been critical of the agency, can turn things around. But there should be little disagreement that an overhaul is necessary.