EXCLUSIVE: BLS Confirms Massive Staff Exodus, Validating Fears That US Economic Data Is Flying Blind

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) confirmed to Benzinga on Wednesday that it is grappling with a staffing crisis, validating growing concerns among top economists that the quality of government data has deteriorated following the federal shutdown in late 2025.

The Scoop: A Hollowed-Out Bureau

In an email to Benzinga, the BLS press office confirmed that “agency staffing has decreased by about 25% over the last year, and approximately 40% of leadership positions are currently vacant.”

The confirmation follows the comments from the former BLS Commissioner William Beach, who stated at the 2026 ASSA conference that the Department of Labor leadership “does not seem to support the Bureau.”

The “Fugazi” Factor: Why It Matters

The revelation adds concrete weight to suspicions held by market skeptics like economist David Rosenberg. In a social media post earlier this week, Rosenberg criticized recent economic data as a “fugazi,” noting a massive disconnect between “headline strength” in GDP and the underlying reality of the industrial sector.

Rosenberg noted that while the third-quarter GDP report showed a robust 4.3% growth rate, the ISM Manufacturing report revealed that only 11% of U.S. industries grew in December—a breadth of expansion tied for the second-lowest reading since April 2009.

The Shutdown Connection

The staffing exodus correlates directly with the recent instability in Washington. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) explicitly stated in its recent GDP release that “the federal government shutdown that occurred in October and November resulted in delays in many of the principal source data.”

The BEA admitted that due to these delays, recent estimates relied on a “combination of data and methods” rather than the standard, robust data sets.

Market Implications

This “data fog” poses a significant risk to investors. According to Bank of America's latest Global Fund Manager Survey, 94% of investors are currently betting on a “soft landing” or “no landing,” with cash allocations crashing to record lows.

These bets rely on the accuracy of federal reports. But with the BLS hollowed out and the government just emerging from a shutdown that disrupted data collection, the market's aggressive optimism may be built on numbers that are susceptible to massive future revisions.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were trading higher on Wednesday. The SPY was up 0.24% at $693.48, while the QQQ advanced 0.59% to $627.31 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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