On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released revised preliminary benchmarking data showing that close to a million fewer jobs were added to the U.S. economy in the 12 months ending in March 2025—only about half as many jobs were added as previously estimated.

To be sure, the American economy is on shaky ground. And worries that the White House may censor or manipulate data if it reflects badly on President Trump’s policies adds to the unease. As it stands, recent numbers are not good. Only 22,000 jobs were added in August, much lower than expected, and job growth stalled sharply this summer. In the first decline since 2020, 13,000 jobs were lost in June.

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On top of this labor market weakness, the reliability of the government’s economic data is in jeopardy. Claiming that last month’s unimpressive jobs numbers were “rigged”, President Trump abruptly fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner and nominated E.J.

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