United States President Donald Trump has fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), after its new jobs report revealed a slump in hiring.
The U.S. added 73,000 jobs in July, fewer than expected, with May and June’s jobs numbers revised downwards by a total of 258,000. Trump accused BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer of “rigging” the jobs report numbers, without evidence.
“In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“This rationale for firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers,” wrote the Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics association, including former BLS commissioners Erica Groshen and William Beach.
“BLS operates as a federal statistical agency and is afforded autonomy to ensure the data it releases are as accurate as possible. To politicise the work of the agency and its workers does a great disservice not only to BLS but to the entire federal statistical system which this country has relied on for almost 150 years.”
BLS deputy commissioner William Wiatrowski will replace McEntarfer on an acting basis, according to Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
July’s preliminary jobs report missed Bloomberg’s estimates, which had predicted around 109,000 jobs would be added. The U.S.’ unemployment rate was 4.2%, having remained in the 4.0-4.2% range since May 2024.
In May, the U.S. added just 19,000 jobs, with BLS revising this figure down from the originally reported 144,000. The country added 14,000 jobs in June, revised downwards from 147,000.
Jobs in the U.S. federal government continued to fall in July, according to the BLS report, amid the Trump administration’s mass layoffs. The healthcare sector saw the largest gains, adding 55,000 jobs last month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 542.40 points to 43,588.58 after the report's release, its worst drop since June 13. The S&P 500 also declined by 1.60%, while the NASDAQ was down 2.24%.
Related content
