The Importance of Official Data in Assessing Economic Conditions | Erika McEntarfer

After a tumultuous week that saw President Trump question the integrity of one of the most widely used government data sources, the Levy Institute is pleased to welcome the recently removed BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer (and Bard College alumna ’95), to a conversation about why data—and measurement in particular—matter for policy, markets, and our daily lives.

Many of the Institute’s scholars rely on BLS data daily. Their frequency and methods are indispensable for our work. The Levy Economics Institute itself has contributed to BLS-commissioned research on measurement.

While the public may have learned of Dr. McEntarfer from the recent BLS shakeup, among economists she is known for her wide ranging expertise and contributions as a professional economist who has worked particularly on issues related to economic measurement, data methodology, and workforce analytics. She has had a distinguished career, having worked under both Republican and Democratic administrations, from the Census Bureau and the Department of the Treasury to the Council of Economic Advisers and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In her talk, she will evaluate recent economic trends, including tariff impacts on price statistics, what we know about AI adoption by firms, measurement challenges facing economists today, and why BLS data remain the gold standard for assessing economic conditions.