Trump Is Playing With Inflation Data, People Say—Here's What We Know

The Bureau of Labor Statistics began relying more on imputations to calculate inflation, after Trump reimposed tariffs, according to Benzinga. While some claim the administration is hiding inflation data to mask tariff effects, the BLS says the changes are routine and show no political interference. The BLS told Benzinga that “home cell” imputation estimates missing CPI data using prices from the same product category and location, making it highly accurate. If local price data is missing, the BLS first estimates using similar products in the same city, and if that fails, it uses regional trends from other areas. The share of CPI prices estimated using broader regional data rose from 15% to 35% between March and June, while local imputations declined. This shift stems from operational cutbacks and staffing reductions ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency. Critics claim the BLS’s recent methodological changes are weakening the credibility of official inflation data and reducing data quality.