In Reaction To Dismal Jobs Report, Donald Trump Says He’s Ordered Commissioner Of Labor Statistics To Be Fired

Following a jobs report Friday that showed the U.S. labor market slowing, Donald Trump took aim at the statistics themselves.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said he was directing his team to fire the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, nominated for the role by Joe Biden. Without offering evidence, he alleged that she “faked” jobs numbers before the election to help Kamala Harris, and that she should be “replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.”

Earlier on Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in its monthly jobs report, estimated that just 73,000 jobs were created in July, and it revised figures for previous months to show that May job growth was just 19,000, while June hiring was just 14,000. The BLS typically revises previous months’ data, as more data comes in, and noted that this revision was higher than normal.

Trump did not complain about the figures when they were released in previous months, showing better-than-expected figures and revisions upward.

And earlier Friday, the Republican National Committee touted the jobs figures as evidence that “the Trump economy is delivering real results for American workers and families.” There was no questioning of the data itself.

But economists have noted that the economy was grappling with the uncertainty of Trump’s tariff policy, as well as more restrictive immigration policies, that have put outlooks in flux.

The monthly jobs data has been prized by economists for its independence from political interference.

Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal, wrote, “BLS puts out the jobs reports, CPI inflation, productivity and employment cost index, among other key statistics. This is basically unprecedented and will raise concerns about US data integrity going forward.”

Jason Furman, a professor at Harvard, wrote on X that Trump’s moves threaten to politicize the data.

Furman, who was chair of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, wrote, “This is awful. Reliable economic data is a key strength of the U.S. economy. When Argentina and Greece faked economic data it contributed to major crises. I don’t think Trump will be able to fake the data given the procedures. But there is now a risk plus an awful appearance.”

He added, “The internal logic of the conspiracy allegations is also bizarre. He claims Biden HELPED himself by publishing initial high numbers & then announcing a downward revision. Now BLS is HURTING Trump by publishing initial high numbers & then announcing a downward revision?”

Trump has been attacking another figure who has championed independence from politics, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. The president has insulted Powell’s judgment as he has put pressure on him to lower interest rates. But the Federal Reserve kept rates steady in their meeting this week, and analysts have warned that any Trump attempt to fire him would shake financial markets.