Trump raises eyebrows by tweeting about sensitive jobs report

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump broke with protocol by tweeting about the all-important US employment report more than an hour before release time Friday, hinting the figures would be positive.

"Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning," he said on Twitter, prompting outcry from many former officials.

When the report was released it showed the unemployment rate had fallen to 3.8 percent, the lowest in 18 years, as the economy continued to add jobs at a rapid pace.

The unemployment rate for African Americans dropped to the lowest ever recorded at 5.9 percent.

The data are kept strictly confidential and subject to tight security to prevent early release since investors worldwide are waiting to trade on the information. The report is given to the White House a day in advance, although officials never hint at the contents.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow confirmed he told Trump about the data Thursday night, but noted the tweet did not reveal any information.

"He didn't give any numbers."

Still, a 1985 government rule prohibits officials from commenting on the jobs report until one hour after release, something Trump administration officials have done on various occasions.

Markets did not appear to react much to the tweet ahead of release time, with just some movement in Treasuries and the dollar -- but were delighted afterwards.

Even so, many said the slip was inexcusable.

"If during the Clinton or Obama Administrations there had been a statement from @POTUS or anyone senior official in the morning before the Employment Report it would have been a major scandal-with all sorts of investigations following on," former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers tweeted.

And Jason Furman, former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under Barack Obama, raised concerns about the apparent signal to markets given Trump had the information early.

"And if this tweet is conveying inside information about a particularly good jobs number you should never get them in advance from the Council of Economic Advisers again."

After the data came out, Furman said he understood why Trump was "so excited that he felt compelled to hype the numbers in advance."