'We need accurate numbers': Trump fires BLS chief Erika McEntarfer after weak July jobs report; claims 'Biden appointee' manipulated data

Time of India

2 days ago

BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer, left, and US President Donald Trump ( Image credits: X)
US President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed bureau of labor statistics (BLS) commissioner Erika McEntarfer, just hours after the agency released a weaker-than-expected July jobs report.
In a post on Truth Social, he accused Erika McEntarfer, a Biden appointee, of manipulating employment figures for political purposes.
'I was just informed that our Country's 'Jobs Numbers' are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, who faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala's chances of Victory,' he wrote in his post.
'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.
These were Records — No one can be that wrong? 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,' he added.
The BLS reported a gain of just 73,000 nonfarm jobs in July—well below market expectations. The agency also revised job gains for May and June downward by a combined 258,000, bringing the three-month average to just 35,000.
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It was the steepest two-month revision since April 2020.
'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,' Trump wrote.
NBC News confirmed McEntarfer's dismissal. The BLS, under the department of labor, has not commented.
Labor secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a Trump appointee, oversees the agency.
Trump and congressional Republicans have long criticized the BLS, particularly over large data revisions. In this year's budget proposal, Trump called for an 8% staffing cut at the agency, raising concerns about the quality and reliability of its economic data.
The weak jobs report triggered a market sell-off, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 500 points and the Nasdaq dropping over 2%.
Treasury yields also declined.
Trump also renewed his attacks on federal reserve chair Jerome Powell.
"The Economy is BOOMING under 'TRUMP' despite a Fed that also plays games, this time with Interest Rates, where they lowered them twice, and substantially, just before the Presidential Election, I assume in the hopes of getting 'Kamala' elected – How did that work out? He wrote.
'Jerome 'Too Late' Powell should also be put 'out to pasture.'
The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged this week, but Friday's weak jobs data has increased expectations of a possible rate cut in September.