Trump's pick to head Bureau of Labor Statistics clears key Senate hurdle

WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - Brett Matsumoto, President Donald Trump's pick to head the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, moved a step closer on Wednesday to running the agency charged with producing key economic data, including on the labor market and inflation.

The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 12-11 along party lines to advance Matsumoto's nomination to the full Republican-controlled Senate. The committee also approved the nomination of James Macy to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board, also on a party-line 12-11 vote, and the nomination of David Prouty for a second term as a member of the NLRB by a vote of 17-6. No date has been set for the final votes on the Senate floor.

The Federal Reserve, economists, investors, and the public rely on BLS data to gauge the health of the labor market, the extent of price pressures, and other critical aspects of the $32 trillion U.S. economy.

During a confirmation hearing in June, Matsumoto told the panel that he did not believe BLS data had been fabricated or rigged. Trump had removed the previous BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, for issuing what he called "fake" job numbers.

Matsumoto, an economist who has worked at the BLS since 2015 but is on leave from the economic data agency to work at the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, also said he has faith in the work performed by the career staff who collect and process the data and would ensure that their output is what is published by the agency.

He said he would work to address technical issues that have undercut the quality of BLS data in recent years but did not echo Trump's unfounded assertions that agency output was being manipulated for political purposes.

Trump fired McEntarfer, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, last August following the release of a monthly employment report that included historically large revisions to previously reported figures on job creation.