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Jonathan Levin, Columnist

Skimping on Inflation Data Is Not Worth the Risk

A hiring freeze that impedes the Bureau of Labor Statistics may cost Americans a lot more than the government saves.

In data we trust.

Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg

It turns out that President Donald Trump’s general and indiscriminate government hiring freeze isn’t the best path to more efficient and effective government — certainly not when it comes to the production of sensitive economic data that guides financial markets and the world’s most powerful central bank.

As the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, the pause in effect since January has left the Bureau of Labor Statistics short of workers to carry out the massive task of surveying consumer prices across the nation. Apparently, the rubber hit the road in April’s consumer price index, when the BLS had to impute prices — essentially inferring them from similar products — on a larger set than normal.