Trump orders firing of labor statistics chief after weaker-than-expected jobs report

Washington, Aug 2 (IANS) US President Donald Trump announced that he has ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accusing her of manipulating data for political purposes.

"I was just informed that our Country's 'Jobs Numbers' are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, who faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala (Harris)'s chances of Victory," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, without providing any evidence.

"We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY ... Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes," Trump said.

Trump's announcement came just a few hours after the BLS released the July jobs report, which showed just 73,000 nonfarm jobs added -- far below forecasts -- and downward revisions of over 250,000 jobs for May and June combined, Xinhua news agency reported.

In July 2023, then US President Joe Biden selected McEntarfer for the role, and the Senate confirmed her in January 2024 with strong bipartisan backing.

"This is a political firing, pure and simple. No justification in terms of performance or skills," Gary Hufbauer, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former Treasury Department official, told Xinhua.

"Going forward, it's likely that the BLS staff will prevent large-scale interference with data collection and presentation. However, Trump's appointee may be able to color statements in a way favorable to Trump," said Hufbauer.

--IANS

int/rs