Trump ousts labor statistics chief over 'manipulated' figures in jobs report
The president insisted that key figures such as these cannot be subject to errors or distortions.
Trump at the White House/
On Friday, President Donald Trump ordered the immediate firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), after the agency released significantly lower-than-expected employment figures for July and negatively revised previous months' data. William Wiatrowski, an official with years of experience at the BLS, was appointed as acting director.
The most recent labor report reported the creation of just 73,000 jobs in July, while May and June data were adjusted downward by a total of 258,000 jobs eliminated. Trump called these figures "manipulated" and directly questioned the integrity of the process under the leadership of McEntarfer, an official promoted during the Biden administration.
"Fair and accurate"
In a Truth Social post, President Trump took responsibility for the release of labor figures that - according to him - were manipulated for political purposes ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
"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."
Trump also insisted on the need to protect the integrity of official reports and questioned why such significant errors have passed without consequence. "Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes," he stressed.
BLS under scrutiny
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is responsible for compiling and publishing key labor market indicators, such as the number of jobs created, unemployment rate and hours worked. Its reports are based on monthly surveys of thousands of employers and are subject to subsequent technical revisions when new information is incorporated or seasonal adjustments are applied.
Although such corrections have been standard practice for decades, the magnitude of recent revisions has raised concerns.
Stephen Miran, White House chief economist, noted in an interview with Axios that the agency needs "fresh eyes" to address the inconsistencies that have emerged. While he did not directly endorse the allegations of manipulation, he cautioned that such substantial revisions affect confidence in the quality of the data.
Change of leadership in a context of economic growth
The appointment of William Wiatrowski as interim director seeks to ensure continuity in the technical work of the agency, while assessing a permanent leadership aligned with the standards of rigor and responsibility required by the current administration.
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