ECONOMISTS RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT QUALITY OF U.S. INFLATION DATA Economists are questioning the reliability of recent U.S. inflation data after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed staffing shortages due to a federal hiring freeze. The lack of survey workers forced the BLS to rely more heavily on estimates—often using less comparable prices or data from other regions, a method known as “different-cell imputation.” In April, nearly 29% of price data was estimated this way—twice the typical rate. While there's no indication of intentional errors, the reduced sample size may increase inaccuracies. This matters because inflation data impacts Social Security, tax brackets, financial markets, and Fed policy decisions. Experts warn that continued underfunding and reduced staffing could undermine the credibility of U.S. economic statistics, long considered the global gold standard.