Trump fires commissioner of labor statistics after weaker-than-expected jobs figures slam markets

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNBC

Published Fri, Aug 1 2025 2:20 PM EDT Updated 2 Min Ago


President Donald Trump on Friday fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, hours after the agency reported that job growth in the U.S. had slowed to a near-halt. In a Truth Social post that also directed even more fire at Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump accused BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of being a political appointee who was manipulating jobs data.

“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 [Harris’] chances of Victory,” Trump wrote.

“We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified,” he added. CNBC has reached out to the BLS for comment. NBC News confirmed that McEntarfer has been fired.

The stunning demand came the same day that the BLS reported a gain of just 73,000 nonfarm jobs in July, below market expectations. In addition, the bureau revised the two previous months down sharply, cutting a combined 258,000 from the prior counts, putting the three-month growth rate at a paltry 35,000.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/01/trump-erika-mcentarfer-jobs-report-fired.html

---

Not The Onion.

REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143505265


Article updated.

Previous article/headline -

Trump directs commissioner of labor statistics to be fired after weaker-than-expected jobs figures slam markets

Published Fri, Aug 1 2025 2:20 PM EDT Updated 4 Min Ago


President Donald Trump on Friday demanded the firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, hours after the agency reported that job growth in the U.S. had slowed to a near-halt.

In a Truth Social post that also directed even more fire at Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump accused BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of being a political appointee who was manipulating jobs data.

"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 [Harris'] chances of Victory," Trump wrote.

"We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified," he added. CNBC has reached out to the BLS for comment.

Original article -

Published Fri, Aug 1 2025 2:20 PM EDT


This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. Killing the messenger.

[twodogsbarking]

4. Only if they don't go quietly.

[cadoman]

53. easy for TSF when the messenger is a woman (nt)

[brush]

55. Yep. Off with her head. TSF acting like he's a king.

[calimary]

56. Oh yes, but didn't you know it was all her fault?

[patphil]

2. It's not good to offend lord trump.

[Timewas]

3. Probably

Was not willing to fudge the numbers

[Angrybob2001]

7. The next one will

The numbers coming in the next year will increasingly be lies. That's one of the things that brought down the USSR.

[UpInArms]

13. Your chocolate ration will be cut in half

To double it

[surfered]

43. No one will trust the numbers going forward.

[dedl67]

46. "Comrades, we completed our glorious 5-year plan in just 4 years"

"And we produced 100 times as many wedges as required by the Plan"

[Hornedfrog2000]

60. Aaaaaand

This is literally why im pulling my money out of the stock market.

[TomSlick]

66. And that's the problem.

Business types and investors rely on government statistics for decision making. Those of us that just want to know what's going on with the economy rely on government statistics.

Going forward, it has to be assumed the numbers are bogus.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. The ultimate in stupity. Real dictator stuff.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. What?

So far, only Jeff Cox is reporting this.

The story hasn't hit the other usual places -- yet.

Thanks.

Edit: it's at her Wikipedia entry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_McEntarfer

Dr. Erika McEntarfer, Commissioner



Dr. Erika McEntarfer became the 16th Commissioner of Labor Statistics on January 29, 2024. She was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden on July 12, 2023, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 11, 2024.
Dr. McEntarfer is a labor economist who has served over 20 years in federal government, with positions at the U.S. Census Bureau, the Executive Office of the President, and the Department of Treasury. At the U.S. Census Bureau, she was the head of research for the Longitudinal Employer–Household Dynamics program, using linked employer–employee data to develop new labor market statistics and improve Census surveys and operations. Prior to joining BLS, she was a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisors, where she advised White House officials on the labor market recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her research has focused on the consequences of job loss, wage rigidity, and the interactions between firms and workers in the economy. Her work has been published in the Journal of Labor Economics, American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, and the Journal of Economic Perspectives. She has a bachelor’s degree in social science from Bard College and a Ph.D. in economics from Virginia Tech.

Last Modified Date: April 17, 2024

[Prairie Gates]

41. ...

https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/01/business/trump-job-report-number-fire

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/07/31/business/tariffs-trump-trade



Blink twice if you're having a cognitive event.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

67. I've been having a cognitive event since November 8, 2016. NT

[Prairie Gates]

68. You've spilled a lot of pixels here telling us these numbers could never be manipulated

For the most part, I believed that.

I do wonder what you make of this.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

69. I'm posting from a phone now, so I can't expound.

I am firm in my belief that existing staffers at BLS can’t be bought. Expect a mass resignation. Trump will find someone to take their place. BLS’s reputation for impartiality will be lost forever.

Once you’ve given up your integrity, you have nothing left.

[not fooled]

8. Time to cook the books!

This country has become a joke. Congrats, dumbass trump voters.

[ificandream]

9. Of course it's not Dumbf's fault.

[Ritabert]

10. Kim Jong Don is not happy

[lostincalifornia]

11. He is blaming it because the sociopath says she is a Biden appointee. Outrageous, and so blatant. When will

the MSM actually start to do their job?

"President Donald Trump said he was directing officials to fire Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hours after a report showed US job growth cooled sharply over the last three months.

“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on social media Friday, accusing her, without evidence, of politicizing the jobs report. “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.”

Friday’s jobs report from the BLS showed payrolls increased 73,000 in July after the prior two months were revised down by nearly 260,000. In the past three months, employment growth has averaged a paltry 35,000 — the worst since the pandemic.

Read More: Biggest Job Revisions Since 2020 Expose Pitfall of Economic Data"

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-01/trump-says-he-ll-fire-labor-statistics-head-after-weak-jobs-data

[Bernardo de La Paz]

25. Dr. McEntarfer was initially hired by the Bush administration. She has written conservative leaning scholarly research.

You are right, it is outrageous and blatant.

[Turbineguy]

12. If trump wants your numbers

He'll give them to you.

[Baitball Blogger]

14. Off with their heads! Off with their heads!

The man only has one solution to everything because he has no depth to understand how everything works and so, no way to come up with innovative ideas.

[milestogo]

15. I don't like what my scale said when I stepped on it this morning.

So I am going to get one that gives me a better number.

[riversedge]

16. NBC: The U.S. job market was weak in July, and previous months were worse than thought

The U.S. job market was weak in July, and previous months were worse than thought
Sharp revisions of government data show the U.S. created just 33,000 jobs total in May and June, while July’s number came in soft, too.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/us-jobs-report-july-downward-revisions-worse-than-thought-rcna222442

Job market weakens as U.S. adds only 73,000 jobs in July

Aug. 1, 2025, 8:21 AM CDT / Updated Aug. 1, 2025, 9:21 AM CDT


By Rob Wile and Steve Kopack

................
“Not only was this a much weaker than forecast payrolls number, the monster downward revisions to the past two months inflicts a major blow to the picture of labor market robustness,” Seema Shah, chief strategist with Principal Asset Management, said in a note following the release. “What’s more concerning is that with negative impact of tariffs only just starting to be felt, the coming months are likely to see even clearer evidence of a labor market slowdown.”

The report comes as President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies are set to begin taking effect for many U.S. trading partners, a move that he has touted as a boost for U.S. labor but criticized by many experts as a tax on consumers.

Major U.S. stock indexes dropped sharply in early Friday trading, with the Dow losing more than 700 points, while the Nasdaq fell more than 2%. The broader S&P 500 was down about 1.7%, while yields on 10-year and 30-year U.S. bonds dropped, indicating a move by investors to safer assets.

The report comes a day after Trump unveiled a sweeping new set of tariffs. Analysts have calculated that the average effective tariff rate imposed on all goods being imported into the U.S. is now 15%, the highest level since the 1930s..................

[Marcuse]

17. This from the guy who wanted to stop COVID testing in order to suppress the infection stats for appearance sake.

[Gimpyknee]

18. Expect record jobs growth in the next report.

The biggest, bestest, growth ever under any president.

[pimpbot]

19. millions and millions

400 million new jobs next month.

And the press will report it, copy n paste.

[littlemissmartypants]

31. "Like nothing ever seen before..."

[NYC Liberal]

20. The "Biden appointee" was confirmed 86-8. And his own VP voted for her.

[LoisB]

21. Tomorrow's headline: Eleventy-billion new jobs created in the last month due to King Trump's

policies.

[jeffreyi]

22. FFS.

This "government" is certified loony tunes. Impeach, remove this mf'r ASAP.

[LudwigPastorius]

23. It will be impossible for the Fed to set meaningful monetary policy when Trump's incoming BLS toady starts...

publishing cooked numbers.

The stock market won't like this. Not at all, not one bit. Trump just blew a hole in the side of the economic ship of state.

This might be the beginning of the next Great Depression.

[LearnedHand]

24. Well sure

Clearly it’s bad number crunching and not the performance of the trump economy.

🤨

[ffr]

26. Fascism, chaos, and propaganda

Our country is so fucked, thanks to everyone who ticketed the box next to tRump's name at the ballot box.

[Scalded Nun]

27. Poor liar adds 1 more number to the job loss report.

[littlemissmartypants]

32. Irony is lost. Maybe permanently.

[Johnny2X2X]

28. This is a way bigger deal that people realize

Without accurate data, the economy could collapse.

[DavidDvorkin]

29. No one will trust the numbers in the future, whether they're good or bad.

[wiggs]

30. We won't see any bad news or reports or studies coming from this administration. Whether it's jobs, climate, illness,

pollution, corruption, trade deals, debt, or anything else.

Not only will only good reports come from the WH...I can see that the WH will stop REPORTING of bad reports from other sources independent of the Feds. Not only will they chill reporting....I can see that federal research and investigations that others would depend on for their own studies has been cut or controlled so that the base information is just absent.

The stage is already set.

[Oeditpus Rex]

33. Mookie Betts is hitting around .240

Shohei Ohtani is around .270.

If the Dodgers would just fire the club statistician, both their batting averages would immediately go up 50 points.

Simple logic.

[littlemissmartypants]

34. If you believe that the flood of lies is outrageous now, just wait.

[the_liberal_grandpa]

35. This should calm the markets

when the market crashes he’ll fire Powell then we’ll be safely on the road to depression. Whoopee!

[CousinIT]

36. "You will publish only the fake job numbers *I* give you, NOT the facts!" -DJT. n/t

[BeyondGeography]

37. What's next, firing CFO's when they report declining profits?

[Mike 03]

38. He'll fire anyone who refuses to cook the books

This should be considered hard evidence that we can trust nothing that comes out of the BLS, and I don't think we can trust crime stats, overdose stats, suicide stats, immigration stats, drug busts or much of the health-related information that will emerge from this administration--to say nothing of climate data and, eventually, maybe even the goddamn weather forecasts.

Remember how major economists and business-related news organizations were so skeptical of the data dump from a month ago? Was it the same unemployment stats that were just revised downward?

On Wednesday, Powell made a point to say that the Federal Reserve can only be as good as the data that comes from the administration is reliable. That was a message to America.

[Grokenstein]

39. From "If you do less COVID testing you get fewer cases! Duh!!" to

straight-up making up feel-good stats. At this point the shit's asking "Where's the goddamn fan? I'm runnin' late, here!"

[Taraman]

40. Petulant child

[paulrevere2018]

42. His bunker syndrome is only going to get worse.

?feature=shared

[hannah]

44. Trump touchy

He is SUCH a SISSY

[-misanthroptimist]

45. The asshat in the WH is a child.

[Kid Berwyn]

47. Always someone else's fault.

Anyone else notice that about the traitor?

[Sailingdiver]

48. Should have fired himself

Stupid orange prick should have fired himself, he's doing all of the damage.

[WestMichRad]

49. Of course he did.

Can’t have any news that reflects badly on his Maladministration.

[FloridaBlues]

50. If he doesn't believe these numbers why insist Powell be fired as well?

Anyone from business going to speak up?…..magas believe everything he says so don’t look for congress to object.
Probably this report came out too high just like the past 2 months has proven.

[Kablooie]

51. What will be the consequences.,.

Of stellar job reports coming out while the reality being that jobs are dropping to unprecedented lows?

[Earth Bound Misfit]

52. Because of course he did.

Another desperate attempt to deflect from the Epstein cataclysm.

[Martin68]

54. Paul Krugman wrote a good piece on this. He ha actually predicted that an authoritarian regime would fire the people

collecting and reporting accurate data on the economy.

[Doodley]

57. I'm sorry to say this is such blunt terms, but every single Republican lawmaker is a fucker to think this is acceptable.

[thought crime]

58. Sad thing is that this is fully expected. Just "normal" Trump behavior.

But every subsequent jobs report should have 30% subtracted for correction.

[pfitz59]

59. 'Off with her head'

Screams the queen of farts!

[AverageOldGuy]

61. So . . .

Now we can’t trust the data coming out of Dept of Labor.

What until the muthahfukah fires the fed chief.

[Jilly_in_VA]

62. "I'd rather have someone who lies to me"

Dumbass.

[MurrayDelph]

63. He had to fire her

She wouldn't stand next to the open window

[ShazzieB]

64. It figures.

"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 [Harris'] chances of Victory," Trump wrote.

So basically, he assumes that everyone is as crooked as he is. Not surprising for someone with his brand of psychopathology, but also EXTREMELY not good. *very weary sigh*

Reading the news these days is like being subjected to an endless stream of emotional abuse. Just one awful thing after another, with no end in sight. It's absolutely exhausting.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

65. Trump responds to his failure to create jobs by firing the U.S. labor statistics chief

Confronted with evidence of his own failures, the president could've changed direction. He instead found it easier to fire his labor statistics chief.

In true authoritarian fashion, Trump, confronted by evidence of his failures, fired the labor statistics chief for telling the truth.

It’s dangerously insane to set the credibility of government stats on fire to satisfy presidential whims.

This isn’t how Americans govern; it’s how despots rule.

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-08-01T19:11:05.747Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-responds-failure-create-jobs-firing-us-labor-statistics-chief-rcna222532

Confronted with evidence of his own failure, Trump announced that he’s changing course and pursuing a more responsible economic direction.

No, I’m just kidding. He’s actually firing the commissioner of labor statistics. NBC News reported:

President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hours after a stunning government report showed that hiring had slowed down significantly over the past three months. Taking to Truth Social, he attacked Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the BLS. He claimed that the country’s jobs reports ‘are being produced by Biden appointee’ and ordered his administration to terminate her.

......Trump, without a shred of evidence or shame, proceeded to claim that McEntarfer had secretly conspired against him during the 2024 campaign — a bizarre claim, given that the job totals in the months leading up to Election Day really weren’t great — before flubbing basic facts about Labor Department reports that anyone in an Economics 101 course would recognize as absurd.

It was at this point that Trump added, “We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. 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.”

The irony was rich.

The president concluded, “The Economy is BOOMING under ‘TRUMP,’” overlooking the inconvenient fact that Americans are dealing with sluggish growth, stubborn inflation, an anemic job market and a slumping manufacturing sector.

For now, I’m not going to dwell on the fact that McEntarfer is a respected, highly qualified career civil servant who’s done nothing wrong and who deserves better than to be fired and smeared with conspiratorial garbage.....

Trump, in true authoritarian fashion, fired the labor statistics chief for doing her job and telling the truth — which the president didn’t want to hear. He’ll now seek out someone new who’ll deliver job statistics that make him happy, knowing full well that McEntarfer’s successor must understand that failure to satisfy Trump will lead to their ouster, too.....

This isn’t how Americans govern; it’s how despots rule.

[OhioTim]

70. Soon, We Won't

be able to believe anything that comes from the government.

[CaptainTruth]

71. Fuck Trump. That is all.

[republianmushroom]

72. A little case of Kill the messenger.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

73. Trump's Efforts to Control Information Echo an Authoritarian Playbook (NYT gift article)

In firing the head of the agency that collects employment statistics, the president underscored his tendency to suppress facts he doesn’t like and promote his own version of reality.

Link to tweet

Trump’s Efforts to Control Information Echo an Authoritarian Playbook www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/u...

— Jane Mayer (@janemayer.bsky.social) 2025-08-03T14:43:25.797Z

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/us/politics/trump-bls-jobs-facts.html?unlocked_article_code=1.bU8.uevb.5cZlTEaDzRQn&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

An old rule in Washington holds that you are entitled to your own opinions but you are not entitled to your own facts. President Trump seems determined to prove that wrong.....

The message, however, was unmistakable: Government officials who deal in data now fear they have to toe the line or risk losing their jobs. Career scientists, longtime intelligence analysts and nonpartisan statisticians who serve every president regardless of political party with neutral information on countless matters, such as weather patterns and vaccine efficacy, now face pressure as never before to conform to the alternative reality enforced by the president and his team.

Mr. Trump has never been especially wedded to facts, routinely making up his own numbers, repeating falsehoods and conspiracy theories even after they are debunked and denigrating the very concept of independent fact-checking. But his efforts since reclaiming the White House to make the rest of government adopt his versions of the truth have gone further than in his first term and increasingly remind scholars of the way authoritarian leaders in other countries have sought to control information.

“Democracy can’t realistically exist without reliable epistemic infrastructure,” said Michael Patrick Lynch, author of the recently published “On Truth in Politics” and a professor at the University of Connecticut.

“Anti-democratic, authoritarian leaders know this,” he said. “That is why they will seize every opportunity to control sources of information. As Bacon taught us, knowledge is power. But preventing or controlling access to knowledge is also power.”....

“It’s a post-factual world that Trump is looking for, and he’s got these sycophants working for him that don’t challenge him on facts,” said Barbara Comstock, a former Republican congresswoman from Virginia.

But firing the messenger, she said, will not make the economy any better. “The reality is the economy is worse, and he can’t keep saying it’s better,” she said. “Joe Biden learned that; people still experience the experience they have, no matter how much” you tell them otherwise.

We can no longer trust any numbers from the trump administration