President Donald Trump’s response to a recent lackluster jobs report was to fire the woman who pulled the numbers together.
Erika McEntarfer was let go from her post as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an office of the Department of Labor, late last week. This came following the publication of the most recent U.S. jobs report, which indicated that only 73,000 jobs were added to the economy last month. (For comparison, about 114,000 jobs were added to the economy last July.) Worse, jobs totals for May and June combined hovered closer to 258,000 openings added to the economy, a lower amount than previously thought by BLS officials.
Some economists say Trump’s tariffs are playing a role, as they place increased strain on businesses. But regardless of the cause, experts are concerned. Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, called the jobs updates “stunning” in an interview with CNN, adding that the labor market is “stalling out right now.” RSM US chief economist Joe Brusuelas added to the network that “this is absolutely the worst major economic report since the end of the pandemic era.”
Trump first announced McEntarfer’s firing following this news via Truth Social. “We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” he posted. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”
In a subsequent post, Trump doubled down on the notion that McEntarfer was politically motivated to present waning jobs figures. “In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad,” he said on social media.
The White House later confirmed the decision, with several staffers backing Trump’s call. But not everyone was supportive of the decision – even some Republicans expressed their concern. “If the president is firing the statistician because he doesn’t like the numbers but they are accurate, then that’s a problem,” Wyoming Republican senator Cynthia Lummis told The Guardian. “It’s not the statistician’s fault if the numbers are accurate and that they’re not what the president had hoped for.”
For her part, McEntarfer responded to the situation by posting on BlueSky that “it has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy. It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.”
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