Former US President Donald Trump has called for the removal of the head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), the agency responsible for producing the monthly jobs report, after a recent report indicated a slowdown in hiring during July and significantly lower figures for May and June than initially reported.
Mr. Trump, through a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, alleged that the jobs data had been manipulated for political gain. He specifically targeted Erika McEntarfer, the BLS Director appointed by former President Joe Biden, stating she should be fired.
“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Mr. Trump stated on Truth Social.
“She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.”
The jobs report released on Friday indicated that only 73,000 jobs were added last month. Moreover, the reports for May and June were revised downwards, showing 258,000 fewer jobs created than previously estimated.
Ms. McEntarfer was nominated by President Biden in 2023 and assumed the role of commissioner of the Bureau of Labour Statistics in January 2024.
While commissioners typically serve four-year terms, they are political appointees and can be dismissed.
The commissioner is the sole political appointee within the BLS, which employs hundreds of career civil servants.
Mr. Trump’s criticism focused heavily on the revisions made to previous hiring data.
Revised figures indicated that job gains in May were significantly lower, adjusted down to 19,000 from the initial 125,000. Similarly, June’s numbers were reduced to 14,000 from 147,000.
In July, the report showed that only 73,000 positions were added to the economy.
The unemployment rate experienced a slight increase to 4.2% from 4.1%, but remained at a historically low level.
“No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers,” Mr. Trump reiterated.
“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 monthly employment report is a key indicator of the health of the US economy and typically draws considerable attention, often leading to fluctuations in financial markets.
The disappointing jobs figures reported on Friday resulted in a decrease of approximately 1.5% in US market indexes.
Although the jobs numbers are often subject to political interpretation, economists and Wall Street investors, who have significant financial interests at stake, have historically viewed the US government’s economic data as reliable and free from political influence.
