By David Lawder and Dan Burns
WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) - Brett Matsumoto, President Donald Trump's nominee to head the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, said on Wednesday he did not believe the agency's data had been fabricated, countering Trump's accusation that the previous BLS commissioner had issued fake job numbers.
Matsumoto, an economist who has worked at the BLS since 2015 but is on leave from the economic data agency to work at the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, said at his
confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that he has faith in the work performed by the career staff who collect and process the data and would ensure that their output is what is published by the agency.
He also said he would work to address technical issues that have undercut the quality of BLS data in recent years but did not echo Trump's unfounded assertions that agency output was being manipulated for political purposes.
Trump fired the agency's previous commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, last August following the release of a monthly employment report that included historically large revisions to previously reported figures on job creation.
The president initially picked conservative economist E.J. Antoni to head the agency but later withdrew the nomination.
Asked whether he ever believed that the jobs report or other data were being faked by the agency, Matsumoto said: "So I believe there are technical reasons that could explain perhaps these larger revisions, but no, I did not."
BLS produces several of the most critical scorecards on the health of the U.S. economy - including benchmark monthly reports on inflation and the job market - that are among the most closely watched reports in the world.
Matsumoto declined to comment on Trump's specific allegation about faked BLS data, saying: "The president's statements speak for themselves, and I'm not going to comment on them."
"I do agree that fulfilling the mission of the BLS to accurately measure this data does require independence from political interference, and if confirmed, I fully commit to maintaining the integrity and independence of the BLS," Matsumoto said earlier in the hearing.
POOR SURVEY RESPONSE RATES, CHRONIC UNDERSTAFFING
If confirmed for the BLS job, Matsumoto would helm an agency that has struggled with data-quality lapses arising from poor response rates to its benchmark surveys as well as collection and processing problems that in part arise from chronic understaffing.
Matsumoto said a key priority would be to mitigate the decline in survey response rates. The agency needs to explore ways to incentivize greater survey responses and to explore alternative data sources including data from payroll companies, tax withholding data and state unemployment insurance system data, which are currently used as part of benchmarking processes.
Asked about what practical measures he would take to ensure the agency remains apolitical, Matsumoto said, "I would be the sole political appointee at the BLS. If confirmed, it is important that decisions not be made by me alone on these matters, that it come from the career staff with the expertise."
He also said it was important for BLS to present its data in an objective manner.
"As commissioner of Labor Statistics, I don't think it's appropriate that I be viewed as either a cheerleader or a critic of the economy, no matter what's happening," he said.
(Reporting by David Lawder in Washington and Dan Burns in New York; Editing by Paul Simao)
