White House officials defend Trump's firing of BLS chief over job data shake-up

India Today

a day ago

Donald Trump administration's top economic advisers on Sunday stood by the US president's decision to fire Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), amid increasing criticism that the move could erode confidence in official US economic data.Speaking to CBS' Face the Nation, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the president had "real concerns" over the reliability of employment figures released by the BLS. Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council, told Fox News that the decision is justified.advertisement"The president is right to call for new leadership," Hassett said. "I think what we need is a fresh set of eyes at the BLS, somebody who can clean this thing up."
At the centre of the controversy is the BLS report issued Friday, which revised previous job growth estimates downward. The report showed that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than initially reported.TRUMP ACCUSES BLS OF FAKING JOB NUMBERSPresident Trump accused McEntarfer of "faking the jobs numbers," although he has not provided any evidence to support the claim of data manipulation.The Bureau of Labor Statistics plays a critical role in shaping economic policy, compiling monthly employment data along with consumer and producer price indexes.In the statement, the BLS attributed the downward revisions to routine updates: "Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors."McEntarfer responded to her dismissal in a post on the Bluesky social media platform, calling it "the honour of her life" to serve as BLS commissioner. She also praised the civil servants at the agency.Several economists and former government officials raised alarms over the firing, warning that it could damage the credibility of the country's statistical agencies. Former BLS Commissioner William Beach, now co-chair of the advocacy group Friends of the BLS, called Trump's action "deeply troubling.""It undermines credibility," Beach said on CNN's State of the Union. "There is no way for a commissioner to rig the jobs numbers. These numbers get revised every year. During Trump's first term, we had a 500,000 job revision, and that was normal."Larry Summers, former Treasury Secretary under President Clinton and economic adviser to President Obama, also weighed in."This is a preposterous charge," Summers said on ABC's This Week. "These numbers are put together by teams of literally hundreds of people following detailed procedures that are in manuals. The idea that one person could manipulate this is absurd."JOB NUMBERS SLASHED BY 125,000According to news agency Reuters, behind every job report are thousands of business owners, payroll officers, and civil servants trying to paint an accurate picture of the economy. Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reaches out to around 121,000 employers -- from local shops to federal agencies -- asking how many people they had on their payrolls during a specific week.advertisementBut not everyone answers right away. Some responses arrive late, and others require follow-ups. That's why the BLS regularly revises its numbers over the next two months, aiming for a fuller, more precise snapshot. By the third month, the response rate usually improves to around 92%.Still, the latest revision stood out. On Friday, the agency slashed its earlier estimate for May by 125,000 jobs — a drop that ranks amongst the largest in the past four decades. According to BLS data, outside the extreme disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the biggest downward revision from a second to a third estimate since March 1983.- EndsTune InTrending Reel