President Donald Trump on Friday sacked the chief of the agency responsible for producing monthly employment figures following a report which revealed recruitment had decelerated in July and was considerably weaker in May and June than initially documented.
Trump, writing on his social media platform, claimed the statistics had been doctored for political purposes and announced that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be dismissed. He offered no proof to support his allegation.
“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump declared on Truth Social. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.”
Trump subsequently asserted: “In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”
Users on X drew comparisons between Trump’s behaviour and that of an authoritarian leader, reports the Mirror US.
“Say goodbye to accurate labor stats. Dictator,” one user remarked.
The accusation that the figures were fabricated represents a damaging claim which risks undermining the political credibility of America’s economic statistics, which have traditionally been regarded as the “gold standard” of economic analysis worldwide. Financial experts and City investors have historically trusted the information as being free from political interference.
“Firing the Commissioner … when the BLS revises jobs numbers down (as it routinely does) threatens to destroy trust in core American institutions, and all government statistics,” Arin Dube, an economist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, expressed on X. “I can’t stress how damaging this is.”
Following Trump’s initial announcement, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer confirmed on X that McEntarfer had been removed from his position at the bureau, with William Wiatrowski stepping in as the acting director.
“I support the President’s decision to replace Biden’s Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,” stated Chavez-DeRemer.
The latest jobs report indicated a mere addition of 73,000 jobs last month, alongside a downward revision of 258,000 jobs for May and June, painting a picture of a weakening economy under Trump’s leadership. This aligns with a broader economic slowdown in the first half of the year and a spike in inflation in June, which many attribute to the president’s tariffs.
Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York didn’t mince words in a Friday speech, saying, “What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger,”.
McEntarfer was put forward by Biden in 2023 and took up the role of Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners usually serve for a period of four years, however, as they are political appointees, they can be dismissed.
The commissioner is the sole political appointee within the agency, which employs hundreds of career civil servants.