Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s decision to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was rooted in politics, but acknowledged flaws in the way federal employment data is collected.
Speaking on CBS News’ Face the Nation, Moynihan said recent jobs reports have been hampered by outdated data methods. “They use surveys and things like that, which frankly just aren’t as effective anymore,” he said, noting that survey response rates have dropped significantly in recent years.
Following a weaker-than-expected July jobs report, President Trump announced on TRUTH Social that he had ordered the firing of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her of “manipulating” jobs data to help Democrats in the 2024 election.
Trump pointed to record-breaking revisions in May and June as proof of foul play. The BLS revised job growth downward by 258,000 across those two months — the largest two-month revision since 1968 outside of a recession, according to Goldman Sachs.
Moynihan didn’t weigh in on the president’s allegations but said Bank of America relies on its own proprietary data rather than government surveys to gauge the labor market. “We watch what consumers do. We watch what businesses do,” he said.
The July report showed just 73,000 jobs added, far below the 110,000 expected. McEntarfer, who was confirmed by the Senate in early 2024 on an 86-8 vote, was removed after Trump accused her of publishing “fake” numbers ahead of the election.
Trump said he would name a new commissioner within a few days. “We had no confidence,” Trump said Sunday. “The numbers were ridiculous that she announced. It’s a scam, in my opinion.”
On Monday, Trump doubled down, calling the latest jobs report “RIGGED” and accusing BLS officials of working to “make a great Republican success look less stellar.” He claimed, without evidence, that the agency inflated jobs data in 2024 to favor Kamala Harris.
Moynihan suggested it's time to modernize government data collection. “Let’s spend some money. Let’s bring the information together… the data is out there somewhere,” he said. “We need it to be more resilient, more predictable, and more understandable.”