US President Donald Trump has sacked Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), just after a surprisingly weak US jobs report was released. He claimed, without showing any proof, that she was twisting the monthly job numbers for “political purposes”.
The sudden decision came just hours after the BLS released a monthly labour report showing the US economy added only 73,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.2 per cent. These figures were much lower than what most economists had predicted, with expectations of at least 100,000 new jobs.
The report also revised down job growth estimates for May and June, slashing a combined total of 258,000 jobs from earlier counts.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed the jobs report was influenced by a “Biden appointee.” He said McEntarfer would be replaced by someone “more competent and qualified.” Trump wrote, “We need accurate Jobs Numbers… they can’t be manipulated for political purposes. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY.”
In his post, Trump alleged that McEntarfer’s actions were intended to influence the 2024 election, stating it was because she wanted to “boost Kamala’s chances of Victory.”
Shortly after the post, a White House official confirmed that McEntarfer had been fired.
Who is Erika McEntarfer?
Dr. Erika McEntarfer is a respected American labour economist. She became the 16th commissioner of the BLS on January 29, 2024. President Joe Biden nominated her in July 2023, and she was confirmed by the Senate with strong bipartisan support, passing with an 86-8 vote.
McEntarfer has spent more than 20 years in public service, working in various government offices like the US Census Bureau, the Treasury Department’s tax policy office and the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Her work focuses on labour markets, wages and job trends and she has been published in leading economic journals. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bard College and a PhD. in economics from Virginia Tech.
Who’s next to lead the BLS?
It’s still unclear who will now lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The current deputy director, Bill Wiatrowski, has been with the agency since the Obama years. The person in charge of producing the jobs report originally joined during Trump’s first term.
The BLS is a nonpartisan agency known for revising its data after publication due to the complexity and scale of its surveys.