Summary
On Friday, President Donald Trump brushed off questions about posting jobs figures from December that were not supposed to be released until the Labor Department issued its monthly employment report. The graph appeared on social media Thursday night, before the report’s scheduled release time of 8:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday.
The jobs report numbers, including the unemployment rate, are closely guarded because they can move financial markets when released. In this case, Friday’s report showed the unemployment rate edging down to 4.4% and included a modest job gain, data economists interpreted as not signaling a sharp deterioration in hiring after the economy shed jobs in August and October.
Bureau of Labor Statistics data are kept under tight controls before the scheduled release. AP reported that the early copies are kept “under lock and key” at the BLS and that White House economic officials receive an advance copy each month on Thursday afternoon, accompanied by agreements intended to keep the numbers confidential, while also allowing officials to prepare a summary for the president.
AP said Trump posted a graphic from that summary Thursday night. The graphic included figures showing businesses had added 654,000 positions since January, while government agencies—at the federal, state and local levels—had cut 181,000 jobs, reflecting hiring in December as well as revisions to prior months that were not supposed to be revealed until Friday morning.
When asked about the early posting, Trump told reporters, “I don’t know if they posted them,” adding, “They gave me some numbers. When people give me things, I post them.” His comments came Friday afternoon, as the monthly jobs report prepared for public release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
Erica Groshen, a former BLS commissioner, said early disclosures can technically carry legal penalties. She told reporters that they can be punished by fines and even jail time, though she said previous breaches have typically been met with what AP described as a slap on the wrist.
Beyond the early graph, Trump also characterized the report’s headline figures as positive. AP reported that Trump said “the numbers were amazing,” while the AP account also said overall job gains last year totaled 584,000—described as the smallest annual increase outside a recession since 2003—and that 2024 had added just over 2 million jobs.