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us bureau of labor statistics
Markey Demands Answers From Trump Agency on Cost of Illegal War on Iran
"The economic havoc wreaked by this war has damaged virtually every sector imaginable, and we need the BLS to factor in the full implications of what the war will mean for the American economy," the senator wrote.
Apr 17, 2026
As President Donald Trump's war in Iran fuels inflation across the US economy, Sen. Ed Markey wrote to the acting head of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to demand updated consumer price data that accounts for these costs.
Markey (Mass.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, already wrote the acting commissioner of BLS, William Wiatrowski, once on March 9, to demand price updates back when the war was just over a week old. He said he received no response.
In a follow-up letter sent Friday, Markey said that in the intervening weeks, "the impact of the crisis has deepened considerably," with repeated blockages to the critical Strait of Hormuz disrupting the global trade of oil and other commodities.
Even with the strait reopened amid a tentative 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, Iran has indicated it will not hesitate to close the waterway again if that agreement—which is already fraying after less than 24 hours—falls apart.
"The economic havoc wreaked by this war has damaged virtually every sector imaginable, and we need the BLS to factor in the full implications of what the war will mean for the American economy," Markey wrote.
He pointed out that since his last letter, average gas prices in the US had surpassed $4.00 per gallon, a 40% increase since the US and Israel launched the first attacks against Iran on February 28.
Citing data from the US Energy Information Administration, Markey wrote that "small businesses and individual car owners are struggling with the prospect of more than $540 per vehicle in added annual gas costs."
Beyond gas, he pointed to other steep price hikes: Fertilizer prices have shot up 30% since the war began, costs he warned would be pushed to consumers at grocery stores in the coming months. Where a month ago, grocery bills were predicted to rise 3% this year, the latest report from the Department of Agriculture now projects a more than 6% increase.
This is on top of rising transport costs due to higher jet fuel and diesel prices, which have led airlines to jack up baggage costs and shipping companies like UPS, Amazon, and FedEx to raise delivery fees.
"Increased transportation costs affect virtually every facet of the supply chains our economy relies on," Markey said. "And yet, we have yet to hear any concrete plan from the administration regarding an end to the conflict, a solution to alleviate these costs, or any attempt at providing relief for Americans.”
In recent days, Trump and his underlings have brushed aside concerns about sharp price hikes due to the war.
At an economic event in Las Vegas on Thursday, Trump described them as "fake inflation because of the fuel, the energy prices." He's previously suggested that price hikes from the war "didn’t matter" to him because they're "short-term" and that Americans concerned about their pocketbooks should care more about the threat of Iran.
Trump's approval rating on the economy hit its lowest point ever recorded this week, with just 40% approving of his handling of the economy compared to 59% disapproving in a Navigator Research poll published Thursday. In that same poll, more than two-thirds of Americans (68%) said the economy was in either "poor" or "not so good" shape.
When asked about these dismal polling numbers by a reporter on Thursday, Trump's top economic adviser, Scott Bessent, shrugged it off, saying that "in their heart of hearts," Americans "feel good" about the economy, and that he was "not sure what they're telling the survey people."
"Understandably, Americans remain skeptical that President Trump has a plan of any kind," Markey said. "They cannot afford to fly blind, as Trump apparently elects to."
The senator said: "Facing thousands of dollars in higher prices for gasoline, groceries, and utilities—not to mention the hundreds of billions of their taxpayer money that Trump is requesting to pay for the war itself—American families and small businesses must budget and plan for the future. BLS must put forward consumer price projections that reflect the disastrous consequences of Trump’s illegal war.”
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'Trump Is Deliberately Ruining the Economy': Inflation Soars Thanks to Illegal Iran War
“The toll of Trump’s war in Iran won’t stop at the pump,” warned one expert. “Price hikes on summer vacations, groceries, and electronics are coming."
Apr 10, 2026
New data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that inflation soared in March thanks in large part to increased energy costs stemming from President Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran.
According to the BLS, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) posted a month-over-month gain of 0.9% in March, led by a 10.9% increase in energy prices including a massive 21.2% increase in gasoline.
On a yearly basis, total prices rose by 3.3% from where they were in March 2025—the highest annual inflation rate since April 2024.
University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers commented in a social media post that inflation in March was "up sharply, and there's more to come," while describing the data as "the first numbers showing economic effects of the war in Iran."
New York Times economics reporter Ben Casselman observed that the 3.3% rise in inflation was "the fastest inflation rate of Trump's second term," and that "the jump was driven almost entirely by higher energy prices, the direct result of the war with Iran."
Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, flagged a particularly worrying aspect of the BLS report, which is that "wage growth is almost entirely eaten up by inflation now."
"Wage growth was +3.5% in March for the past 12 months. Inflation was +3.3% in March for the past 12 months," Long explained. "This is the squeeze many households are feeling. Their pay won't be able to keep up with this level of inflation. (And yes it was the same situtation in 2022)."
Elizabeth Pancotti, managing director for policy and advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative, said that the spike in inflation "comes as no shock to anyone who has filled up their gas tank in the past month," and predicted the damage wouldn't be limited to fuel prices.
"The toll of Trump’s war in Iran won’t stop at the pump," Pancotti said. "Price hikes on summer vacations, groceries, and electronics are coming down the pike as his war stokes chaos in supply chains around the world. By pursuing this illegal war, the president has made it clear that he’s putting American families last."
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) stated that "between the war and tariffs and general incompetence, Trump is deliberately ruining the economy."
The Republican Party tried to put its best spin on the numbers by boasting that core inflation, which excludes the prices of food and energy, did not rise as much as anticipated.
"Core inflation just came in LOWER than expected for the month of March!" the GOP wrote in a social media post. "President Trump continues defying the 'experts' and beating expectations."
However, the GOP's post got several angry replies from followers who argued that core inflation mattered little when energy prices are spiking and gas prices are averaging $4.15 per gallon.
As Vox senior editor Benji Sarlin noted, former President Joe Biden's White House regularly pointed to core inflation numbers while trying to ease voters' anxiety about rising prices, but with little success.
"Congrats to all the Trump White House folks explaining the difference between topline inflation and core inflation during an oil shock today, I’m sure the Biden WH alums will be very sympathetic," Sarlin wrote. "People on social media also love it when you say inflation is actually pretty good if you just exclude gas, try it out."
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'This Is a Hiring Recession': Economists Raise Red Flags at Latest Gloomy Data in Trump Economy
"Hiring was ice cold in February," said one economist.
Mar 31, 2026
New data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Tuesday continued to show weakness in the American jobs market.
The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) shows that the number of new hires in February decreased to 4.8 million, which was roughly 400,000 fewer hires than were recorded in February 2025.
The report also shows that the US hiring rate in February fell to just 3.1%, which is the lowest rate since April 2020, when the economy was shut down due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
The good news in the report is that the number of quits and layoffs remained relatively steady, meaning that people who already have jobs are retaining them at a healthy clip.
But Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, noted that these bad hiring numbers came before President Donald Trump launched an illegal war with Iran, which has since destabilized global energy markets and raised prices for oil, gasoline, and diesel fuel.
"This is a hiring recession," Long wrote in a social media post. "And Americans are feeling it. There were notable hiring pullbacks in February in hospitality and construction. Bottom line: The job market was already frozen before the war in Iran began. It's worrying that a 'no hire, no fire' situation could turn into a 'no hire, start to fire' job market quickly if there isn't a resolution soon."
Long's analysis was echoed by Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at hiring site Indeed, who wrote in a research note flagged by Axios that hiring in the US "was stuck in neutral going into this [Iran] conflict," and "getting it into gear just got harder" thanks to the war.
Guy Berger, director of economic research at the Burning Glass Institute, noted that hiring rates in the US hit 3.1% or lower the last two times the country was in a severe recession.
"3.1% is not only comparable to the Covid low point—it's also comparable to late 2009 and early 2010, when the unemployment rate was around 10%," Berger explained. "Hiring was ice cold in February."
Scott Lincicome, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute who has been a harsh critic of Trump's tariffs, found that the February JOLTS report wiped out an unexpected January increase in manufacturing job openings that the president's allies attributed to his trade policies.
"Alas, the perils of cherry-picking," Lincicome commented.
The new data on hiring in the US job market comes weeks after a BLS report estimated that the economy lost 92,000 jobs in February. On the whole, the American economy has posted a net loss of jobs since Trump announced his “liberation day” global tariffs in April 2025.
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