In the US last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly jobs stats. The BLS reported lower than expected new jobs for July and substantially revised down the jobs figures for May and June.
Such revisions are commonplace, yet the US president promptly fired the BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer.
The group ‘Friends of BLS’ wrote in a statement: “This rationale for firing Dr McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers.”
And that is the key point. Whenever federal stats are released in future, their credibility will be questioned. Are they the real figures or a sanitised version to placate the president?
This has major implications for business and economics journalists, who have hitherto been able to treat stats from federal bodies as reliable sources.
News media is now going to have to devote more time and resources to:
- investigating the methodology and reporting of official statistics
- buttressing their own economic reporting, expertise and credibility
- cultivating and expanding their networks of insiders so as to find out what is really happening within federal bodies
The firing is another indicator of creeping authoritarianism on the part of the US government. This is both an opportunity and a threat for the media.
The public’s need for truth is the opportunity – the government’s targeting of the messenger is the threat. After all, that’s what we are.
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