Trump orders firing of Labor statistics head after weak jobs report
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 Friday's July jobs report - which was well 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 robust 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.
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