ISTANBUL

The US Labor Department's internal inspector said Wednesday that it launched a probe into the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) methods for gathering statistics on inflation and employment, the CNBC business network reported.

"Please be advised the Office of Inspector General is initiating a review of the challenges that Bureau of Labor Statistics encounters collecting and reporting closely watched economic data," the agency’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) said in a letter.

The OIG said it was starting the investigation in response to BLS's announcement that it will be collecting less data for the producer price index and the consumer price index, two important indicators of inflation.

"Our focus will be on the challenges and related mitigating strategies for (1) collecting PPI and CPI data, and (2) collecting and reporting, including revising, monthly employment data," it noted.

The investigation comes after pressure on BLS from the Trump administration, which argued that the agency's data is unreliable by citing recent negative adjustments to employment numbers.

Last month, BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer was fired by President Donald Trump after that agency published a poor monthly employment report, and Trump accused her of being politically motivated.

The probe also followed the non-farm payroll job additions of the largest downward revision in more than two decades. A BLS preliminary report showed Tuesday that job additions for the year ending in March 2025 was revised downwards by 911,000 from initial estimates.​​​​​​​