Trump dismisses Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner following disappointing employment data and unfounded allegation of fabricated figures
In a move that has raised eyebrows and sparked concerns, President Donald Trump has fired Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), amidst job report revisions and allegations of politicization of labor data.
The firing comes at a time when the BLS reported a significant slowdown in hiring, with only 73,000 jobs added in July, well below economist expectations. The report also provided new estimates for the previous two months, indicating substantially less employment growth than previously reported. The U.S. added 19,000 jobs in May and just 14,000 jobs in June, revising downward previous estimates of 139,000 and 147,000 jobs respectively.
Trump has accused McEntarfer of falsifying job numbers to favor the Biden administration, calling the revisions and reported figures the "biggest miscalculations in over 50 years," and describing the jobs data as a "scam" produced by a Biden appointee.
The timing of the firing has raised concerns about the independence and credibility of the BLS, as the Commissioner is traditionally expected to operate as a nonpartisan official to maintain confidence in important economic indicators. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett publicly supported Trump's decision by alleging a "partisan pattern" in the data reporting, suggesting a political motive behind the statistics.
Such allegations and actions could politicize labor statistics, complicate economic policymaking, and affect markets, investor confidence, and public trust in government-generated labor data.
In a separate development, the U.S. GDP increased at a 3% annualized rate over three months ending in June, according to a separate government report. The federal funds rate stands between 4.25% and 4.5%, preserving much of a sharp increase imposed in response to a pandemic-era bout of inflation. The Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady at its July meeting.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell voiced some concern about a rekindling of inflation due to elevated tariffs. Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., Powell said tariffs have begun to contribute to price increases for some goods, but the ultimate impact of the policy remains uncertain.
Inflation has increased for two consecutive months, but it remains well below a peak attained in June 2022. Five meetings and seven months have elapsed since the Fed last adjusted interest rates.
Raymond Robertson, professor of economics at Texas A&M University, voiced alarm about the firing, expressing concern that it could destabilize trust in official job numbers critical for economic analysis and policy decisions. Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, stated that the jobs report shows a much weaker than forecast payrolls number.
William Wiatrowski will serve as acting commissioner of the BLS while the Trump administration selects a replacement. Wiatrowski previously served as acting commissioner of the BLS from January 2017 to March 2019.
Erika McEntarfer served in the federal government for 20 years, holding positions at the U.S. Census Bureau, the Executive Office of the President, and the Department of Treasury. McEntarfer was fired after a new jobs report showed a major slowdown of hiring in recent months. Trump criticized McEntarfer over the revisions, saying without evidence that the revisions suggested jobs statistics had been "manipulated."
The implications of this firing are significant, with allegations of politicization of labor data and undermining trust in official employment statistics. The BLS routinely revises estimates of jobs added in previous months, but the timing and circumstances surrounding this firing have raised concerns about the integrity of economic data and its impact on policymaking and market confidence.
- The ongoing politics surrounding the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has raised questions about business practices.
- Economists are closely watching the trend of job hiring in the United States, following the slow down indicated in the recently revised BLS report.
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