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USA Today
15 minutes ago
- USA Today
President Trump orders firing of Labor statistics chief after weak jobs report
Trump ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, the U.S. commissioner of Labor Statistics, accusing her without evidence of manipulating jobs figures. WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump said he's ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, the U.S. commissioner of Labor Statistics, accusing her without evidence of manipulating figures for "political purposes" after the Labor Department reported the U.S. added a disappointing 73,000 jobs in July. Trump on Aug. 1 announced the move in a post on his social media app Truth Social, writing that he was "just informed that our Country's 'Jobs Numbers' are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer." "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. "Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes." More: July jobs report reveals employers added 73,000 jobs; unemployment rises The Senate in January 2024 confirmed McEntarfer, an appointment of former President Joe Biden. A labor economist, McEntarfer has worked 20 years in the federal government, including previous stints at the U.S. Census Bureau and Treasury Department. In addition to the July jobs report ‒ below the 105,000 new jobs that were estimated ‒ the Labor Department's job gains for May and June were revised down by 258,000, portraying a much weaker labor market than believed in late spring and early summer. More: In historic move, Trump escalates trade battles with sweeping new tariffs around the world "McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months," Trump said. "Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative." Trump also accused McEntarfer of "faking the jobs numbers before the (2024) election" to help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Trump pointed to jobs reports in March, August and September of 2024 that were later revised lower. Contributing: Paul Davidson of USA TODAY Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
The Hill
15 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump demands official overseeing jobs data be fired after dismal employment report
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday called for the firing of the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump in a post on his social media platform alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. 'I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.' Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and in June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1%. 'No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers,' Trump wrote. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes.' The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent U.S. market indexes about 1.5% lower Friday. While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted U.S. government economic data as free from political manipulation.
Axios
15 minutes ago
- Axios
Trump says he will fire labor statistics chief after weak jobs report
President Trump said he will fire the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after the independent government agency reported weak jobs numbers for July and the preceding month. Why it matters: Trump is turning his ire about poor jobs numbers on the number-crunchers. The big picture: Government statistics agencies are historically insulated from politics, so they can accomplish the deeply technical task of tallying up activity in a $30 trillion economy. It came after BLS reported that the U.S. added only 73,000 jobs in July and sharply revised downward its May and June job growth estimates. Without evidence, the president accused BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer, a 20-year government veteran who was elevated to that job in the Biden administration, of distorting the numbers for political purposes. What they're saying: " I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes." "McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months." "Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative. The Economy is BOOMING under "TRUMP" despite a Fed that also plays games, this time with Interest Rates." Reality check: BLS is considered the gold standard among international labor data collectors. Economists consider its revisions process key to transparency and thoroughness, even if it sometimes makes BLS look bad when preliminary numbers turn out to be wildly off. The establishment survey, on which the job growth numbers are based, comes from monthly contact with 121,000 employers nationwide, asking them how many workers are on their payrolls, how many hours they worked, and so forth. The revisions are based on additional survey responses coming in, corrections, and seasonal adjustments. The jobs numbers are also benchmarked yearly against unemployment insurance filings, to ensure that the survey data lines up with actual employment as reflected in administrative records. Of note: In his post, Trump attacked that benchmarking process too, which resulted in significant revisions last year in the run-up to the presidential election. "This is the same Bureau of Labor Statistics that overstated the Jobs Growth in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 and, then again, right before the 2024 Presidential Election, in August and September, by 112,000," Trump said. "These were Records — No one can be that wrong?"
