by Washington (AP) Following a report that revealed hiring slowed in July and was significantly weaker in May and June than previously reported, President Donald Trump fired the chairman of the agency that generates the monthly jobs data on Friday.
In a social media tweet, Trump claimed that the numbers were falsified for political ends and called for the dismissal of Erika McEntarfer, the former president Joe Biden’s head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He offered no proof to support the accusation.
Trump stated on Truth Social, “I have instructed my team to fire this Biden political appointee, IMMEDIATELY.” Someone far more capable and equipped will take her place.
Later, Trump wrote: “I think today’s jobs numbers were rigged to make me and the Republicans look bad.”
The political credibility of the U.S. government’s economic statistics, which has long been regarded as the gold standard of economic assessment worldwide, is in danger of being undermined by the explosive claim that the data was falsified. For many years, Wall Street investors and economists have mostly believed that the data is impartial.
Trump’s decision to terminate McEntarfer was just another unusual use of his presidential authority. He has attempted to dominate the media, America’s best universities, Congress’ constitutional power of the purse, the global trade system, and other organizations by using his influence as president.
A group of two previous BLS commissioners, including Trump-appointed William Beach, strongly denounced McEntarfer’s termination. They specifically took issue with the accusation that the data was manipulated for political ends.
According to a statement from the Friends of BLS group, this justification for dismissing Dr. McEntarfer is baseless and calls into question the reliability of federal economic data, which are essential for businesses, families, and policymakers to make informed financial decisions.
Beach and Erica Groshen, the previous president Barack Obama’s BLS commissioner, both signed the letter.
Arin Dube, an economist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, stated on X that firing the Commissioner when the BLS lowers employment figures (as it frequently does) would undermine confidence in fundamental American institutions and all government data. I cannot emphasize how harmful this is.
Following Trump’s first appointment, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced on X that deputy commissioner William Wiatrowski will take over as interim director of the bureau, replacing McEntarfer.
Chavez-DeRemer stated, “I encourage the President to replace Biden’s Commissioner and make sure the American people can rely on the significant and impactful data coming from BLS.”
Only 73,000 new jobs were added last month, according to Friday’s jobs report, and 258,000 fewer positions were generated in May and June than initially thought. In line with a slowdown in economic growth in the first half of the year and an increase in inflation in June that seemed to reflect the price pressures brought on by the president’s tariffs, the data suggested that the economy has weakened significantly during Trump’s presidency.
When a lousy leader receives bad news, what do they do? In a speech on Friday, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said, “Shoot the messenger.”
Biden nominated McEntarfer in 2023, and in January 2024, he was appointed Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Usually appointed for four-year terms, commissioners are subject to termination because they are political appointees. The agency employs hundreds of career civil workers, and the commissioner is the only political appointee.
With Vice President JD Vance now among the yea votes, the Senate confirmed McEntarfer to her position 86–8.
A large portion of Trump’s anger was directed at the agency’s changes to earlier hiring numbers. In May, job gains were reduced from 125,000 to barely 19,000, and in June, they were trimmed from 147,000 to 14,000. Just 73,000 new jobs were added in July. The unemployment rate increased slightly from 4.1% to a still-low 4.2%.
Can’t anyone be that mistaken? Trump wrote, “We need accurate jobs numbers.” Someone far more capable and equipped will take her place. Such significant figures must be impartial and true; they cannot be swayed for political ends.
Since the first May data were released on June 6, when it was first reported that the economy added 139,000 jobs, Trump has not always been so dubious of the monthly jobs report and has reacted with enthusiasm.
Fantastic results, stock market booming! At the moment, Trump posted.
Later, the forecast was reduced to 125,000 jobs, and the most recent revision reduced it to only 19,000 jobs.
Trump was more critical throughout the 2016 campaign. He frequently criticized the jobs data, which showed that the unemployment rate was consistently falling while Obama was still president, but as soon as he took office, he immediately shifted to applauding the numbers, citing the continued steady job increases.
One of the most anticipated pieces of government economic data is the monthly employment report, which has the potential to trigger significant fluctuations in financial markets. U.S. market indices fell over 1.5% on Friday as a result of the disappointing number.
Many analysts were surprised by the large changes made to the May and June figures. Revisions to the previous two months’ numbers are also included in each monthly jobs report. These changes take place as the government gets more business replies to its survey, which contributes to a more comprehensive monthly picture of employment trends.
Larger monthly modifications may have resulted from corporations taking longer to reply over the last ten years.
Over the past ten years, the percentage of businesses that reply to the surveys has likewise steadily decreased; nonetheless, the study still receives replies from about 200,000 business locations, which may be independent businesses or franchises of larger chains.
In order to avoid leaks or early distribution, the BLS has traditionally kept early copies of the monthly jobs report in safes under lock and key.
Josh Boak helped write this report.
