LONDON - The United States is about to discover how hard it is to make some playing fields level. The Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to change the way journalists are given early access to some of the most closely-watched economic indicators in the world, including the monthly U.S. employment report. The aim is to ensure everyone gets crucial information at the same time. But unintended consequences are inevitable.

Reporters are currently given an advance copy of data in a so-called lockup, enabling them to digest and contextualise information – and load it into their computers. From March 1, though, electronic devices will be forbidden. The new protocol is intended to stop “flash boys”, whose computerised trading machines profit from a few microseconds head start, benefiting from the speed of some news organizations’ systems.

The process has until now been controlled by an official with a communications switch. The new approach means journalists won’t be able to publish the instant the embargo lifts. Instead they will have to take pen-and-paper notes, and start filing stories only after the data is officially released.

Websites and other electronic communications mean the BLS and others don’t strictly need media to disseminate information these days. The German statistics office went further in 2017, when it stopped sending reporters embargoed data, without noticeable negative effects. But U.S. reports matter more to markets so the BLS plan is more consequential.

First, a scramble to publish will mean journalists flag what they spot first, not what’s most important. Second, haste may lead to mistakes. Third, even tiny price shifts may be quickly amplified, only to subside. Finally, those with the deepest pockets will pay for machines that scan public websites faster than their rivals can. The idea that the BLS is getting ahead of fast-moving technology is questionable, especially since the new policy is based on recommendations dating back to 2014.

Meanwhile, there are other more obvious problems. The UK statistics office not only sequesters journalists in prerelease lockups but in 2017 also stopped giving data in advance to anyone in government. This means no one, including politicians, can jump the gun, as U.S. President Donald Trump did in 2018 when he indicated a strong jobs report was on the way before the release. Being fast is one thing, being early is another.

CONTEXT NEWS

- The U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics on Jan. 16 announced changes to economic data “lockup” procedures, which would result in the removal of computers from its Washington newsroom effective March 1.

- BLS Commissioner William Beach said the changes were in line with recommendations made in 2014 by the Labor Department’s inspector general and were intended to keep data secure prior to public release, stay ahead of rapidly changing technology, and remove the advantage of media in providing data to high-speed traders.

- Media organizations, including Reuters News and Bloomberg News, send reporters to “lockups” to prepare stories 30 to 60 minutes in advance of the official release of information, with the government controlling a communications switch to prevent inadvertent early release.

- After the changes, the Labor Department will still hold “lockups”, including for the closely watched monthly employment report, consumer and producer inflation data, as well as the weekly jobless claims report. Reporters who attend will, however, only have a pen and pad to work on and will have to dictate their stories to their offices after the embargo on the data lifts.

(Editing by Richard Beales and Amanda Gomez)

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