Brett Matsumoto

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Brett Matsumoto
Commissioner of Labor Statistics
Nominee
Assuming office
TBD
PresidentDonald Trump
SucceedingErika McEntarfer
Personal details
Education

Brett Matsumoto is an American economist.

Early life and education

Brett Matusmoto graduated from Newark High School in 2002.[1] He then attended the University of Delaware earning a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and history and both a bachelor's and master's degree in economics.[2] In 2015 he completed his Ph.D in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[3] His research focused on economic measurement.[3]

Career

Matsumoto began working for the Bureau of Labor Statistics's Division of Price and Index Number Research in 2015.[4] His work at the bureau focused on inflation calculations. Matsumoto co-authored a section in the bureau's handbook on techniques to measure inflation and advocated for changes to how the bureau calculates costs to health insurance.[5] He joined the Council of Economic Advisers on assignment in the first[6] and second Trump administrations.[5]

Commissioner of Labor Statistics

On January 30, 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported that president Donald Trump had named Matsumoto as his nominee for commissioner of labor statistics, succeeding the economist Erika McEntarfer, whom he fired in August 2025.[5] Trump publicly announced that Matsumoto would be his nominee hours later.[7] Matsumoto's nomination was officially submitted to the Senate on May 11.[8] He appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on June 10, where he stated his intention to improve data quality and reliability.[9]

References

  1. "Newark". The News Journal. Wilmington, DE. June 2, 2002. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  2. "Brett Matsumoto, Ph.D." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. June 29, 2016. Archived from the original on February 1, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  3. Gurley, Lauren; Ackerman, Andrew (January 30, 2026). "Trump taps career staffer to lead statistics agency whose chief he fired". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 31, 2026. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  4. Smith, Molly; Hordern, Annmarie (January 30, 2026). "Trump Plans to Nominate Brett Matsumoto to Head BLS, Report Says". Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  5. Grossman, Matt; Leary, Alex (January 30, 2026). "Trump Picks Veteran Staffer to Head Bureau of Labor Statistics". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  6. Courtenay, Brown (January 30, 2026). "Trump taps BLS economist to lead the data agency". Axios. Archived from the original on January 31, 2026. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  7. Casselman, Ben (January 30, 2026). "Trump Names 'Data Nerd' to Lead Labor Statistics Agency". The New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  8. Varnier, Julia (May 12, 2026). "Trump taps ousted FEMA leader for comeback in stunning reversal". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  9. https://www.barrons.com/articles/bls-nominee-brett-matsumoto-senate-hearing-c0ce6a44