Trump sacks data chief over poor job numbers
A White House official defended the move, saying there had been concerns for some time about the quality of economic data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
In a second surprise economic policy development, the door for Trump to make an imprint on a Federal Reserve — with which he clashes almost daily for not lowering interest rates — opened earlier than anticipated when Fed Governor Adriana Kugler unexpectedly announced her resignation on Friday.
The two developments further rattled a stock market already reeling from Trump's latest barrage of tariff announcements and the weak jobs data. The benchmark S&P 500 Index sank 1.6% in its largest daily drop in more than two months.
Trump accused Erika McEntarfer, appointed by former president Joe Biden, of faking the jobs numbers. There is no evidence to back Trump's claims of data manipulation by the BLS, which compiles the closely watched employment report as well as consumer and producer price data.
A representative for the BLS did not respond to a request for comment.
Friday began with BLS reporting the US economy created only 73,000 jobs in July, but more stunning were net downward revisions showing 258,000 fewer jobs had been created in May and June than previously reported.
'We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified,' Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network.
'Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes,' he said. He later added that the figures 'were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad'.
US data agencies enjoy a global reputation for 'gold standard' statistics — one Trump may now be putting in danger — and economists of all stripes dismissed the idea of politically motivated manipulation.
But a Trump administration official who requested anonymity said the White House has been dissatisfied with how large the revisions have been in the recent BLS data, and with lower survey responses. The problem started during the Covid pandemic and has not been addressed in the years since.
'There are these underlying problems that have been festering here for years now that have not been rectified,' the person said. 'The markets and companies and the government need accurate data, and we just weren't getting that.'
The BLS has already reduced the sample collection for consumer price data as well as the producer price report, citing resource constraints. The government surveys about 121,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 631,000 individual worksites for the employment report.
The response rate has declined from 80.3% in October 2020 to about 67.1% in July, BLS data shows.
A Reuters poll last month found 89 of 100 top policy experts had at least some worries about the quality of US economic data, with most also concerned that authorities are not addressing the issue urgently enough.
In addition to the concerns over job market data, headcount reductions at BLS have resulted in it scaling back the scope of data collection for the Consumer Price Index, one of the most important gauges of US inflation, watched by investors and policymakers worldwide.
Trump's move fed into concerns that politics may influence data collection and publication.
'Politicising economic statistics is a self-defeating act,' said Michael Madowitz, principal economist at the Roosevelt Institute.
'Credibility is far easier to lose than rebuild, and the credibility of America's economic data is the foundation on which we've built the strongest economy in the world. Blinding the public about the state of the economy has a long track record, and it never ends well.'
Meanwhile, Kugler's surprise decision to leave the Fed at the end of next week presents Trump an earlier-than-expected opportunity to install a potential successor to Fed chair Jerome Powell on the central bank's board of governors.
Trump has threatened to fire Powell repeatedly because the Fed chief has overseen a policymaking body that has not cut interest rates as Trump has demanded. Powell's term expires next May, although he could remain on the Fed board until Jan 31, 2028, if he chooses.
Trump will now get to select a Fed governor to replace Kugler and finish out her term, which expires on Jan 31, 2026. A governor filling an unexpired term may then be reappointed to a full 14-year term.
Some speculation has centred on the idea Trump might pick a potential future chair to fill that slot as a holding place.
Leading candidates for the next Fed chair include Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and Fed Governor Chris Waller, a Trump appointee who this week dissented with the central bank's decision to keep interest rates on hold, saying he preferred to start lowering them now.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bangkok Post
17 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
Trump sacks data chief over poor job numbers
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump has fired a top Labor Department official after the release of unexpectedly weak employment figures, accusing her without evidence of manipulating the figures to make his administration look bad. A White House official defended the move, saying there had been concerns for some time about the quality of economic data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In a second surprise economic policy development, the door for Trump to make an imprint on a Federal Reserve — with which he clashes almost daily for not lowering interest rates — opened earlier than anticipated when Fed Governor Adriana Kugler unexpectedly announced her resignation on Friday. The two developments further rattled a stock market already reeling from Trump's latest barrage of tariff announcements and the weak jobs data. The benchmark S&P 500 Index sank 1.6% in its largest daily drop in more than two months. Trump accused Erika McEntarfer, appointed by former president Joe Biden, of faking the jobs numbers. There is no evidence to back Trump's claims of data manipulation by the BLS, which compiles the closely watched employment report as well as consumer and producer price data. A representative for the BLS did not respond to a request for comment. Friday began with BLS reporting the US economy created only 73,000 jobs in July, but more stunning were net downward revisions showing 258,000 fewer jobs had been created in May and June than previously reported. 'We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified,' Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network. 'Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes,' he said. He later added that the figures 'were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad'. US data agencies enjoy a global reputation for 'gold standard' statistics — one Trump may now be putting in danger — and economists of all stripes dismissed the idea of politically motivated manipulation. But a Trump administration official who requested anonymity said the White House has been dissatisfied with how large the revisions have been in the recent BLS data, and with lower survey responses. The problem started during the Covid pandemic and has not been addressed in the years since. 'There are these underlying problems that have been festering here for years now that have not been rectified,' the person said. 'The markets and companies and the government need accurate data, and we just weren't getting that.' The BLS has already reduced the sample collection for consumer price data as well as the producer price report, citing resource constraints. The government surveys about 121,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 631,000 individual worksites for the employment report. The response rate has declined from 80.3% in October 2020 to about 67.1% in July, BLS data shows. A Reuters poll last month found 89 of 100 top policy experts had at least some worries about the quality of US economic data, with most also concerned that authorities are not addressing the issue urgently enough. In addition to the concerns over job market data, headcount reductions at BLS have resulted in it scaling back the scope of data collection for the Consumer Price Index, one of the most important gauges of US inflation, watched by investors and policymakers worldwide. Trump's move fed into concerns that politics may influence data collection and publication. 'Politicising economic statistics is a self-defeating act,' said Michael Madowitz, principal economist at the Roosevelt Institute. 'Credibility is far easier to lose than rebuild, and the credibility of America's economic data is the foundation on which we've built the strongest economy in the world. Blinding the public about the state of the economy has a long track record, and it never ends well.' Meanwhile, Kugler's surprise decision to leave the Fed at the end of next week presents Trump an earlier-than-expected opportunity to install a potential successor to Fed chair Jerome Powell on the central bank's board of governors. Trump has threatened to fire Powell repeatedly because the Fed chief has overseen a policymaking body that has not cut interest rates as Trump has demanded. Powell's term expires next May, although he could remain on the Fed board until Jan 31, 2028, if he chooses. Trump will now get to select a Fed governor to replace Kugler and finish out her term, which expires on Jan 31, 2026. A governor filling an unexpired term may then be reappointed to a full 14-year term. Some speculation has centred on the idea Trump might pick a potential future chair to fill that slot as a holding place. Leading candidates for the next Fed chair include Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and Fed Governor Chris Waller, a Trump appointee who this week dissented with the central bank's decision to keep interest rates on hold, saying he preferred to start lowering them now.
Bangkok Post
21 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
India under more pressure to shun Russian oil
NEW DELHI — At least two vessels loaded with Russian oil bound for refiners in India have diverted to other destinations following new US sanctions, according to trade sources and data providers. The development comes even as Indian officials are reportedly saying they would keep purchasing oil from Russia despite the threat of steep penalties by US President Donald Trump. The New York Times quoted two senior Indian officials as saying there had been no change in policy, and that the government had 'not given any direction to oil companies' to cut back imports from Russia. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House, India's Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On July 14, Trump threatened 100% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. Russia is the top supplier to India, responsible for about 35% of India's overall supplies. On Friday, Trump told reporters that he had heard that India would no longer be buying oil from Russia. Reuters had reported earlier that Indian state refiners had stopped buying Russian oil in the past week as discounts narrowed in July. The US Treasury Department this week imposed sanctions on more than 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities and ships, some of which are involved in transporting Russian oil. Three ships — the Aframaxes Tagor and Guanyin and the Suezmax Tassos — were scheduled to deliver Russian oil to Indian ports this month, trade sources said. All three vessels are under US sanctions. Tagor was bound for Chennai on India's east coast, while Guanyin and Tassos were headed to ports in western India, according to trade sources and Russian ports data. Tighter Western sanctions aimed at cutting Russia's oil revenue, seen as funding its war against Ukraine, have been increasingly hitting Russian oil supplies for India. Tagor is now heading to Dalian in China, while Tassos is diverting to Port Said in Egypt, the data showed. Guanyin remains on course to Sikka, a port used by the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BCPL). Indian Oil Corp, which was to receive the Tagor shipment, and BPCL did not respond to Reuters' emailed requests for comment. Zulu Shipping, linked to Panama-flagged Tassos and Tagor, and Guanyin-owner Silver Tetra Marine could not be reached for comments. Both companies are under US sanctions. A Reliance spokesperson said that 'neither of these two vessels, Guanyin and Tassos, is coming to us'. Reliance has previously purchased oil in Guanyin. Separately, two other vessels, Achilles and Elyte, loaded with Russian oil, were preparing to discharge Russian Urals crude for Reliance, according to data from LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group). Both these vessels are sanctioned by Britain and the European Union. India has condemned the EU sanctions.
Bangkok Post
a day ago
- Bangkok Post
Myanmar remains upbeat on trade talks despite 40% Trump tariffs
NAY PYI TAW — Myanmar's military government said it remains upbeat on reaching a deal with the US to see a decrease in US President Donald Trump's new tariffs of 40% on goods from the Southeast Asian country. 'The US continues to negotiate with us on this so it's still in a stage of negotiation,' Zaw Min Tun, chief spokesman of the ruling State Security and Peace Commission, told Bloomberg News on Saturday. Myanmar has offered to reduce its tariff on American goods entering the country to a range of 0%-15%, from the previous rate of 88%, and expects the ones imposed by the United States to drop to a range of 0%-7%, he said. The nature and channel of ongoing discussions between the US and Myanmar is not immediately clear as Washington has imposed sanctions on most of Myanmar generals and cabinet members following a military coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi-led civilian government in 2021. Last month, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing praised Donald Trump in a rare letter and compared his military's coup to the American president's baseless claims of US election fraud, suggesting both leaders were victims of rigged votes. In there, he requested a reduced tariff rate and offered to send a high-level trade delegation to Washington. Myanmar's bilateral trade with the US is relatively small compared to other countries in the region. The value of two-way trade was US$588.3 million in the fiscal year ended March, down from $701.9 million a year earlier, while the US continued to see a trade deficit, according to government data. Myanmar has been struggling with a crippling economy and a growing civil war since the military seized power more than four years ago. Earlier this week, the regime lifted a 54-month state of emergency, paving way for long-promised general elections in December which many countries consider as a sham.
