Last Reliable Economic Statistics?

[Gary Witlen]

In the hope that voters will evaluate the Trump administration based on actual facts when the mid-term elections occur in 2026, rather than PR spins and fabrications, here are the most recent actual key economic statistics that should be of interest to middle class workers. Unfortunately, these may be the last reliable numbers produced by BLS, the universally respected agency responsible for collecting data. Following the revised new employment numbers for May and June, Trump fired the career statistician leading BLS and is reported to be replacing her with E.J.Antoni from the Heritage Foundation, an author of Project 2025 and advocate for a new method of collecting and reporting economic data. Both Republican and Democratic officials, as well as economists world-wide, have expressed fear that the numbers will be cooked to favor Trump’s agenda.
New Unemployment claims:
1/20/25 +201,000
2/23/25 +213,000
3/31/25 +219,000 Total Claims 1.9 million
4/30/25 +241,000 Total Claims 1.92 million
6/12/25 +248,000
7/9/25 +233,000
8/12/25 +226,000
First Quarter Gross Domestic Product: -0.3%
Second Quarter GDP +3.0%
Unemployment rate:
1/25 4.1%
2/25 4.0%
3/25 4.2%
4/25 4.2%
4/25 4.3%
5/25 4.1%
6/25 4.2%
CPI (annual): These reflect the prior month’s prices
1/25 +2.9%
2/25 +3%
3/25 +3.1%
4/25 +2.4%
5/25 +2.4%
6/25 +2.3%
7/25 +2.7%
Gas (nat. ave.)
1/25 $3.09
2/25 $3.07
3/25 $3.17
4/25 $3.19
5/25 $3.16
6/25 $3.14**
8/12/25 $3.16
Diesel (nat. ave.)
1/25 $3.60
2/25 $3.63
3/25 $3.68
4/25 $3.76
5/25 $3.45
6/25 $3.79
8/12/25 $3.80
New Jobs
12/24 +256,000
1/25 +143,000
2/25 +140,000
3/25 +228,000
4/25 +177,000*
5/25 +139,000 Adjusted 19,000
6/25 +147,000 Adjusted 14,000
7/25 +73,000
Average hrly earnings (annual)
2024 +3.9%
Eggs (nat. ave.)
1/25 $3.37
2/25 $4.95
3/25 $4.90
4/25 $4.65
5/25 $4.30
6/25 $3.01
8/12/25 $3.01
*March new hires figures were revised downward by 95,000
** Trump has asserted on at least three occasions that the price of gas in five states is less than $2.00 per gallon. Anyone live in one of those states?

[Yard Dog]

My IRA is making money now more than ever.

[Knucklehead]

Very low numbers by historic standards, but overall steady surprisingly in '25. Now that the data will be manipulated by the BLS Trumpers, will SOB and his economic team object to the bs data soon to be published? Prob not...UPSers and others don't get COLAs because the data is wrong or not collected or not published? What a circus. No data, no COLA.

[killAInow]

Good point , I wonder what Teamster-UPS-Trump voters will think of the new "best ever numbers". On second thought they're practised at buying the Bullshit.

[Yard Dog]

Best president ever. MAGA