Latest news with #LongitudinalEmployer-HouseholdDynamics
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Until Trump fired her, she was an economist with bipartisan support
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up She graduated from Bard College with a bachelor's degree in social sciences, and she obtained a doctorate in economics at Virginia Tech. Advertisement A photo provided by the US Bureau of Labor shows US Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. McEntarfer led the agency that produced key data on jobs and inflation but was fired by Trump after July's report showed a weakening economy. U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR/NYT She began her career as an economist at the Census Bureau, where she worked for six years, according to her LinkedIn profile. In 2008, she joined the Treasury Department, where she analyzed the president's budget as well as the effect of tax policy proposals on revenue. McEntarfer returned to the Census Bureau in 2010, assuming more of a leadership role. She became the head of research for the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics program, which is responsible for developing new statistics on postsecondary employment outcomes and quarterly workforce indicators. Advertisement She also served on the White House Council of Economic Advisers in the Biden administration, advising senior White House officials on labor market data. Her time on the council came as the labor market was recovering from the pandemic. McEntarfer hasn't commented on her firing publicly, and it wasn't clear what she would do next. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said Friday that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as acting commissioner until a replacement was found. In a statement Friday, a group called the Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, made up of former commissioners who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, denounced Trump's move to fire her. It accused the president of wanting someone to blame for the unwelcome economic news. 'The commissioner does not determine what the numbers are but simply reports on what the data show,' the group said. 'The process of obtaining the numbers is decentralized by design to avoid opportunities for interference.' McEntarfer's role as commissioner was largely about managing and overseeing the agency of more than 2,000 nonpartisan staff members. Her predecessor, William Beach, is a member of the Friends group and was appointed by Trump during the president's first term. 'The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as commissioner of labor statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the bureau,' he said Friday. This article originally appeared in .
Canada News.Net
01-08-2025
- Business
- Canada News.Net
Trump fires head of statistics bureau after poor jobs report
In an extraordinary outburst, U.S. President Donald Trump, aside from lambasting Federal Reserve Cahir Jay Powell, has now taken aim at the head of the bureau overseeing the tabulation of employment statistics, following Friday's disappointing jobs report. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added just 73,000 jobs in July, far less than expected, and revised down the May and June figures, by a combined 258,000 jobs. A furious Donald Trump took to Truth Social, his own social media platform, to blast the bureau chief, and fire her, claiming she was 'faking' the stistics, and noting she was appointed by long time rival, former President Joe Biden. She was nominated by Biden on July 12, 2023, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 11, 2024. "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," President Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday. Trump alleged that the BLS, under McEntarfer's leadership, had significantly overstated job growth figures in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 jobs, followed by additional overstatements of 112,000 jobs in August and September—just before the election. He called the discrepancies "records" and questioned their validity, stating,"No one can be that wrong?" "We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said. "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, 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? Jerome "Too Late" Powell should also be put "out to pasture." Thank you for your attention to this matter!" the president posted. Background on Dr. Erika McEntarfer Dr. McEntarfer, a labor economist with over two decades of federal government experience, was nominated by President Joe Biden on July 12, 2023, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 11, 2024. Her career includes key roles at the U.S. Census Bureau, where she led research for the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics program, and at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where she advised on labor market recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her research, published in leading economic journals, has focused on job loss impacts, wage rigidity, and labor market dynamics. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Virginia Tech and a bachelor's degree from Bard College. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not yet publicly responded to Trump's allegations.
