Summary
President Trump announced that he will fire Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), after the agency reported lower-than-expected job growth numbers for recent months. Trump's decision follows reported revisions showing fewer jobs added in May and June, which he believes were politically manipulated. BLS, known for its transparency, maintains a system for revising job data as more information becomes available.
Key Facts
- President Trump plans to remove Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- The Bureau reported that only 73,000 jobs were added in July.
- Previous job growth numbers for May and June were revised downward by 258,000 jobs.
- William Wiatrowski has been named the acting head of BLS.
- Trump claims the job numbers were manipulated to harm his political standing.
- The BLS frequently revises job numbers as more data comes in, a process valued for transparency.
- BLS collects data from 121,000 employers each month to determine job growth numbers.
- The unemployment rate reported by BLS is not revised monthly.
