Following weaker than expected jobs numbers and downward revisions to previous data, President Trump’s decided to fire Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. But the case for firing McEntafer is weak, and the choice to fire her on political grounds is unlikely to benefit the economy or the president’s agenda.

The president’s pretext for firing the BLS commissioner focused on supposed political motivations for the reported anemic growth in jobs. The director of the National Economic Council claimed the accuracy of the BLS’s job figures has been “awful.” But understanding how the data is constructed — and taking a look at recent revisions — it is clear that neither claim really holds muster.

BLS, like other Federal statistical agencies, is extremely transparent about its procedures for collecting data. It surveys a sample of workplaces about their payroll employment, wages and hours worked as of the 12th of each month and publishes its initial estimate about three weeks later. Since not everyone responds to the survey within that window, the initial release is considered preliminary — as more information filters in over the next two months, BLS revises its estimates.

So how do they do?

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