Trump defends firing lead official on economic data as tariffs cause market drop
Donald Trump has defended firing the boss of one of America's most important economic institutions hours after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported.
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Writing on social media, the US President alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons.
He claimed that the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired.
He wrote: "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’s chances of Victory.
"This is the same Bureau of Labor Statistics that overstated the Jobs Growth in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 and, then again, right before the 2024 Presidential Election, in August and September, by 112,000."
President Trump provided no evidence for his claims.
He added: "These were Records — No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY."
Mr Trump continued to say she will be replaced "with someone much more competent and qualified".
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"Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes," he said.
"Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative. The Economy is BOOMING under 'TRUMP' despite a Fed that also plays games."
The President later posted: “In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”
The charge that the data was faked threatens to undercut the political legitimacy of the US government's economic data, which has long been seen as the "gold standard" of economic measurement globally.
Economists and Wall Street investors have long accepted the data as free from political bias.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr Trump defended his decision to fire Ms McEntarfer.
Asked by a reporter, “Why did you fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics?”
Mr Trump replied: “Because I think her numbers were wrong, just like I thought her numbers were wrong before the election.”
Bill Beach, a former Heritage foundation economist who was picked by Mr Trump in 2018 to oversee labor statistics, denounced what he called the “totally groundless firing” of his successor.
Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated.
The report suggested that the economy has sharply weakened during Mr Trump's tenure, a pattern consistent with a slowdown in economic growth during the first half of the year and an increase in inflation during June that appeared to reflect the price pressures created by the president's tariffs.
Ms McEntarfer was nominated by Mr Biden in 2023 and became the commissioner of the Bureau of Labour Statistics in January 2024.
Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired.
The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants.