Trump Fires Labor Statistics Chief After Jobs Report

Time​ Magazine

4 days ago

President Donald Trump directed his Administration on Friday to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after the agency released a report that showed that the U.S. added fewer jobs in July than many economists had expected, indicating that job growth has stalled in the aftermath of Trump enacting a number of controversial economic policies.
The President slammed Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the bureau, on Truth Social, saying that the country's jobs report was "being produced by a Biden Appointee."
"We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump said in his post. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. 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 report, released earlier in the day, found that the U.S. added 73,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate increased slightly, from 4.1% in June to 4.2% in July.
The data come after economists have expressed concern that the Trump Administration's flip-flopping tariff policies and sweeping layoffs at federal agencies could slow economic growth. Some Democratic lawmakers slammed the Administration upon the release of the Labor Department's report.
'American families deserve an economy that works for them. But under president Trump, job growth is slowing, costs keep rising, and the Big Ugly Law is stripping health care from millions,' Democratic Rep. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, said in a press release. 'While he hands out tax breaks to billionaires and stokes reckless trade wars, middle-class families are left paying the price.'
Read More: Why Growing the Economy from the Bottom Up is America's Best Bet
Here's what to know about the latest jobs data.
The report made significant revisions to data from past months
In addition to releasing July employment data, the Labor Department also revised data from May and June based on recalculations and additional information received from businesses and government agencies.
The revisions, the report says, 'were larger than normal.' Employment in May and June combined is 258,000 lower than what the department previously reported. Those revisions meant that only 19,000 jobs were added in May (before, the department had reported 144,000) and just 14,000 jobs were added in June (the department had previously reported 147,000). The significant revisions to the data suggests that the labor market may be struggling more than experts previously thought.
The federal government sector continued to lose jobs
Federal government employment fell again in July, with a loss of 12,000 jobs, according to the report. The sector has lost 84,000 jobs since the start of the year. The report notes that employees who are on paid leave or are receiving ongoing severance pay are considered employed, and so are not included in this tally.
The Trump Administration has initiated mass layoffs across a number of federal agencies in recent months, including the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, among others.
Read More: Achieving Sustainable Growth Requires Rethinking the Economy
The manufacturing industry lost jobs for the third month in a row
The U.S. also lost 11,000 manufacturing jobs last month, marking the third month in a row that employment has declined in that industry. The sector lost 15,000 jobs in June and 11,000 in May.
The Trump Administration has said that tariffs would help manufacturers and push Americans to buy products domestically. But reports have indicated that manufacturers have struggled as tariffs have driven up the cost of materials from other countries.
Where jobs are still growing
Employment continued to increase in two industries: health care and social assistance.
The health care industry added 55,000 jobs in July, above the average monthly addition of 42,000 jobs over the prior 12 months. Job gains in that sector last month occurred particularly in ambulatory health care services and hospitals, according to the report.
About 18,000 jobs were added in social assistance last month. According to the Wall Street Journal, health care and social assistance are industries that typically thrive regardless of the state of the economy.