Trump fires Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner after disappointing job numbers

President Trump ordered his administration to fireside the commissioner of labor statistics, Erika McEntarfer, after the July jobs report confirmed a pointy slowdown in hiring and a steep downward revision to Could and June’s hiring numbers. 

“No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media. 

He added, “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 president described the most recent report, which confirmed employers in July added a weaker-than-expected 73,000 jobs, as “a shock,” including that the downward revision of 258,000 fewer jobs created in Could and June was a “major mistake.”

McEntarfer didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Erika McEntarfer

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Though Mr. Trump claimed, with out proof, that the most recent employment report revision for Could and June undermines the information’s accuracy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics continuously revises its earlier job numbers to mirror new info, whereas previous months’ numbers are sometimes revised each upwards and downwards. The earlier revision was made within the June jobs report, when the BLS revised April and Could’s numbers increased.

McEntarfer’s firing drew criticism from economists and coverage consultants, who mentioned the transfer threatens the integrity of financial knowledge from a trusted federal company 

Mr. Trump “is firing the messenger because he doesn’t seem to like jobs numbers that reflect how badly he’s damaged the economy,” Lily Roberts, managing director for Inclusive Development on the Heart for American Progress, a Washington, D.C., assume tank, mentioned in a press release. 

She added, “The data he wants to hide is produced by nonpartisan economists who have been doing this work for decades. Politicizing our country’s collection of data on what’s going on in the economy could shake markets that rely on unbiased information, and it will make it harder to create an economy that makes sure everyone has a good job.”

Heather Lengthy, chief economist on the Navy Federal Credit score Union, mentioned in a social media put up that Mr. Trump’s dismissal of McEntarfer is “basically unprecedented and will raise concerns about U.S. data integrity going forward,” noting that BLS additionally points carefully watched knowledge on inflation, wages and employee productiveness. 

Some Republican lawmakers additionally expressed concern in regards to the firing.

In a social media put up, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer mentioned she supported the firing, and added that Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski will function performing commissioner. “A recent string of major revisions have come to light and raised concerns about decisions being made by the Biden-appointed Labor Commissioner,” she wrote.

McEntarfer was named because the sixteenth commissioner of Labor Statistics in January 2024, after she was nominated by President Biden in 2023 and confirmed in early 2024 by the Senate. A labor economist, McEntarfer had spent greater than 20 years in positions with the federal authorities, together with the U.S. Census Bureau and the Treasury, in accordance to her bio.

Stagnating job market

Mr. Trump’s firing of McEntarfer got here after the July jobs report signaled that the labor market has stalled with employers holding off on hiring partially due to uncertainty of the administration’s commerce insurance policies. 

The July knowledge seems to again up anecdotal proof from the Federal Reserve’s most up-to-date “beige book,” which compiles feedback from native companies, that many firms had been delaying hiring “until uncertainty diminished.”

“Based on what I was hearing from a lot of employers, I kept expecting to see a stagnant job report at some point, that’s what we got today,” Laura Ullrich, Certainly’s director of financial analysis for North America and a former official on the Federal Reserve Financial institution of Richmond, advised CBS MoneyWatch. 

Extra from CBS Information