Senate Confirms Brett Matsumoto to Lead BLS

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a permanent leader again. The Senate confirmed longtime BLS economist Brett Matsumoto as Commissioner on August 7, putting an experienced statistical insider in charge at a consequential moment for the nation’s labor market data.

The Senate confirmed Matsumoto by a 51–47 vote for a four-year term. For C2ER members, the appointment matters because BLS data sit at the center of how states and regions understand employment, wages, inflation, productivity, and changing labor market conditions.

Matsumoto knows the agency from the inside. He joined BLS in 2015, has focused much of his work on economic measurement and inflation, and most recently served as a senior economist with the White House Council of Economic Advisers while on leave from BLS. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He also takes over after an unusually turbulent year for the agency.

President Trump dismissed former Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in August 2025 following an employment report that included weaker job growth and substantial revisions to earlier estimates. The president accused the agency of manipulating the numbers, an allegation for which no evidence emerged. The episode raised concerns among economists and other data users about political pressure on an agency whose credibility depends heavily on its independence.

Those concerns followed Matsumoto into his June 10 confirmation hearing. He responded by making data integrity a central theme.

“I believe strongly in the mission of the BLS to produce objective quality measures,” Matsumoto told senators, adding that BLS decisions should be “driven by science rather than politics.” He also said methodological changes would be approved by career staff and communicated publicly with supporting research.

What C2ER Members Should Watch

Leadership stability is important, but Matsumoto inherits some difficult operational challenges. BLS has lost experienced staff, faces vacancies in senior positions, and has already reduced some data collection and statistical products because of resource constraints. Survey response rates also continue to challenge the traditional federal statistical model.

That makes the next phase about more than protecting the credibility of existing numbers. BLS must also determine how to modernize the way it collects and produces them.

For C2ER members, that conversation has immediate implications. State and regional analysts need reliable national statistics, but they also need the geographic and industry detail that makes federal data useful for local decision-making. New administrative data, alternative sources, and emerging technologies may strengthen the system, but modernization must preserve transparency, consistency, and the ability to compare places and trends over time.

Matsumoto’s appointment gives BLS an experienced leader as it takes on those questions. C2ER will continue to follow developments at BLS and across the federal statistical system, with a particular focus on the quality, accessibility, independence, and regional usefulness of the data our members rely on every day.