Trump Goon Admits He Might ‘Concoct’ Jobs Numbers

The White House’s economic adviser revealed on Thursday that there will be no official unemployment rate for October due to the government shutdown but that the Trump administration might “concoct” some numbers.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Fox News that the government would release its employment report for October, but without the jobless rate.

“The household survey wasn’t conducted in October, so we’re gonna get half the unemployment report,” Hassett, 63, told America’s Newsroom. “We’ll maybe be able to concoct something, but we’ll never actually know for sure what the unemployment rate was in October.”

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 13: Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett walks to reporters outside of the White House on November 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. Hassett spoke about the recent end to the government shutdown. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) — Kevin Hassett’s poor word choices attracted scrutiny in a time when the credibility of the U.S. jobs reports are in question. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

While some may have thought Hassett simply chose his words poorly, he used the same wording when speaking to reporters later on Thursday.

“I think we’ll be able to concoct the correct number after we look back, but we will never know what the unemployment rate was in October, because there wasn’t a household survey with that,” he said.

Hassett also said that September’s jobs numbers were “cooked”—meaning they were ready for release, but commenters were quick to note that “cooked” could mean “fabricated.”

Hassett’s poor word choices did not go unnoticed.

“When it comes to the most trusted data source in the American economy, can we not use the verb ‘concoct’?,” posted Ian Mariani, the communications director for Senator Adam Schiff.

Not the adjective I would’ve chosen. https://t.co/ANMYyKsLs2

— Brendan Duke (@Brendan_Duke) November 13, 2025

The most honest moment of the Trump administration! “Well maybe concoct something..” https://t.co/nBKaR3O28H

— Hal_For_NY__ (@HalforNY__) November 13, 2025

BREAKNG: In an unbelievable moment, Trump Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett says Americans will never know what the October unemployment rate was, but “We’ll be able to concoct something.”
They are admitting to the deception out loud.pic.twitter.com/P36G9XnJGT

— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) November 13, 2025

Key word-concoct. If this admin is unable to provide actual data then they have failed. @KevinHassett this country deserves better than your pin the tail on the donkey approach to data. You fail and this administration fails the ppl of the US on every conceivable level. https://t.co/Ez3S3mPho1

— 2xLolli (@rudytoot1) November 13, 2025

Not the best turn of phrase
*HASSETT: SEPTEMBER JOBS REPORT HAS ‘ALREADY BEEN COOKED’

— Michael Brown (@MrMBrown) November 13, 2025

Hassett did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.

In July, President Donald Trump fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) chief Erika McEntarfer because he was unhappy with the jobs reports the agency put out. He did not commit to assuring the public that future jobs reports would be “credible” after the shocking firing. Trump also nominated and then withdrew E.J. Antoni as a potential replacement for McEntarfer.

The numbers haven’t improved since McEntarfer’s July departure. In August, the unemployment rate stayed at 4.3 percent, and the economy added only 22,000 jobs, well below the triple-digit increase forecasted by the White House.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks alongside Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett during a press availability in the Oval Office — Trump fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief because he was unhappy with the numbers it put out, throwing the credibility of the agency into question. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Hassett’s comments came after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that October’s jobs report would likely never come out because the government shutdown forced the Bureau of Labor Statistics to “go dark” for the month.

“The October CPI and jobs reports are likely never being released, and all of that economic data released will be permanently impaired, leaving our policymakers at the Fed flying blind at a critical period,” she told reporters.

Economists are not optimistic about how America’s jobs situation fared in October, even without a BLS jobs report. Goldman Sachs estimated the country lost 50,000 jobs. Economists told Dow Jones they expected the jobs report would have shown a decline of 60,000 jobs and an unemployment rate increase to 4.5 percent, up from 4.3 percent in August.

Hassett also told reporters that the Council of Economic Advisers estimated the 43-day shutdown, which ended on Wednesday night, cost the economy about $15 billion a week. That is set to hit annualized gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter by as much as 1.5 percentage points.

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