GOP senators demand information on the changes to Department of Labor's job statistics

A group of five Republican senators on Tuesday sent a letter to acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, demanding answers on why the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) repeatedly revised its monthly job reports. 

The group of senators, led by Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, accused the Biden administration of "seemingly cooking the books" on their economic record in order to boost public support ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The U.S. economy is considered one of the biggest concerns heading into the election.

Sens. Ted Budd of North Carolina, Rick Scott of Florida, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma also signed the letter.

The letter referenced the bureau's recent revisions of its jobs reports, including reducing the jobs report for January 2024 by 97,000, and the 12-month period through March 2024 by 818,000.

"These discrepancies, representing jobs that the Biden-Harris Administration claimed to have created, which simply do not exist, were reported as signs of economic dynamism and positive job creation," the senators wrote. "Yet, with such consistent downward revisions, BLS data and actual job market growth clearly failed to match up with the rosy estimates painted by the Biden-Harris Administration." 

"These misleading numbers create a false impression for the public and cast doubt on the validity of the Bureau’s accuracy and legitimacy," the letter continued. "Had news reporters and outlets received the revised job numbers first each month, reporting and public perception of the job market may have changed."

The senators claimed that the jobs report should show that there was actually a loss of 510,000 jobs between July 2023, and July 2024.

"In November, the American people will have a choice to continue the failed policies of the Biden-Harris Administration or pursue a pro-worker agenda which will not need to be revised down to show how bad conditions have truly become," the senators wrote in conclusion. "It is imperative that the American people receive a fair and accurate accounting of the nation’s economic health. "

The senators requested a response to the letter with the information by Sept. 9. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.