Summary
United States President Donald Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after disappointing job numbers for July. Trump claimed the figures were manipulated to make him look bad, but gave no evidence for this. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer confirmed McEntarfer’s removal and stated William Wiatrowski will temporarily take over.
Key Facts
- President Trump removed Erika McEntarfer, BLS head, after weak job numbers.
- Trump claimed, without evidence, that job figures were manipulated against him.
- The July report showed 73,000 jobs were added and revisions to May and June figures showed fewer jobs created than initially reported.
- Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer supports McEntarfer’s removal and named William Wiatrowski as acting head.
- McEntarfer, appointed by President Biden, was confirmed with bipartisan support in 2024.
- Trump criticized the downward revisions made to the job numbers for May and June.
- The U.S. market indexes fell by about 1.5 percent following the jobs report.
- The unemployment rate slightly increased to 4.2 percent.
