Trump posted unreleased jobs data early on social media

President Donald Trump posted a chart on social media Thursday evening that included figures in the yet-to-be released December employment report.

The chart, which showed the private sector added 654,000 jobs “since January,” matched figures that were not publicly published until 8:30 a.m. in Washington on Friday. It was posted on Truth Social about 12 hours before the data was set to be released.

The U.S. jobs data, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are among the most closely guarded economic statistics and can move markets by trillions of dollars.

The White House didn’t provide comment.

The president and his economic team are typically briefed on the jobs report the day before the numbers are published. No one from the administration is allowed to comment on the figures until they’ve been out for 30 minutes to allow the public time to process the policy-neutral statistics before the executive branch weighs in with its interpretation.

Bloomberg News calculated the private payrolls gain from January through November was 687,000 using data publicly available as of Thursday. Friday’s report showed December private payrolls came in weaker than expected and included downward revisions to October and November payrolls.

The report showed that total nonfarm payrolls, which include government employment, also missed forecasts last month and capped one of the weakest years for hiring since 2009.

Although the post did not disclose the specific payrolls figure for December, it could have hinted to investors that hiring at the end of last year was weaker than previously thought.

Market watchers were circulating the president’s post on social media following the publication of the numbers, noting that he appeared to share data early. The post included a graphic that cited the BLS and calculations by the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

It’s not the first time Trump hasn’t adhered to protocol. In his first term, he tweeted that he was “looking forward” to seeing the jobs report an hour before it was released, which traders interpreted as a signal that the numbers would be positive. That was in fact the case, as payrolls in May 2018 beat forecasts and the unemployment rate dropped.