INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.
Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed Alex Brill.
Kevin Price visited with Alex Brill from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI.org).
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently revised its employment data downward by nearly one million jobs for the year ending March 2025. While the number sounds dramatic, it is part of the agency’s regular annual benchmarking process, which updates survey-based estimates with more complete state unemployment records. These kinds of revisions are common and reflect the complexity of gathering real-time labor market data.
Monthly job reports are always subject to adjustment as more information comes in. For example, June was revised down by 13,000 jobs, while July was revised up by 6,000. These changes highlight normal fluctuations rather than errors or manipulation.
The more concerning figure is the 22,000 jobs created in August, a clear sign of a cooling labor market. Several factors are contributing: tariffs have raised costs for businesses, dampening hiring; uncertainty in global trade has slowed investment; and specific sectors like manufacturing, retail, and leisure are struggling.
Taken together, the revisions and weak gains show a labor market losing momentum. But the large downward adjustment itself is not unusual—it reflects routine methodology, even if it underscores the reality that the job market is weaker than it appeared.
According to the American Enterprise Institute, “Alex Brill is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies the impact of tax policy on the US economy as well as the fiscal, economic, and political consequences of tax, budget, health care, retirement security, and trade policies. He is the editor of Carbon Tax Policy: A Conservative Dialogue on Pro-Growth Opportunities. Before joining AEI, Brill served as the policy director and chief economist of the House Ways and Means Committee. Previously, he served on the staff of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He has served on the staff of the President’s Fiscal Commission (Simpson-Bowles) and the Republican Platform Committee (2008). He is also the founder and CEO of the economic consulting firm Matrix Global Advisors (MGA). Brill has an MA in mathematical finance from Boston University and a BA in economics from Tufts University.”
