Trump ousts jobs data chief after weak employment report

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced the dismissal of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), following the release of a disappointing July jobs report.

The BLS revealed that the U.S. economy created only 73,000 jobs in July, far below the 104,000 forecast, and accompanied by downward revisions totaling 258,000 jobs for May and June. The revised figures cast fresh doubt on the resilience of the U.S. labor market and heightened investor concerns over economic data integrity.

President Trump, amid the fallout, accused McEntarfer – appointed by former U.S. President Joe Biden of politically manipulating jobs data to hurt Republicans.

"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 (Harris)'s chances of Victory," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, without providing any evidence.

"We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY ... Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes," Trump said.

'Political firing'

Trump's move was widely condemned by Democrats and economic experts alike, many of whom viewed it as an attempt to politicize independent data agencies. Senate Democratic leaders likened the firing to authoritarian playbooks, arguing that firing the "messenger" undermines public trust in government statistics. A coalition of former BLS commissioners and statisticians emphasized that no evidence supports allegations of systematic data manipulation, warning the action threatens the credibility of U.S. economic data.

"This is a political firing, pure and simple. No justification in terms of performance or skills," Gary Hufbauer, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former Treasury Department official, told Xinhua.

"Going forward, it's likely that the BLS staff will prevent large-scale interference with data collection and presentation. However, Trump's appointee may be able to color statements in a way favorable to Trump," said Hufbauer.

Market turmoil amid weak data and tariff spike

U.S. stocks tumbled Friday, weighed down by a weaker-than-expected jobs report that signaled a cooling labor market and growing investor unease over the Trump administration's erratic trade policies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 542.4 points, or 1.23 percent, to 43,588.58. The S&P 500 declined 1.6 percent to 6,238.01, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 2.24 percent to 20,650.13.

Losses were broad across the market, with eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closing lower. Consumer discretionary and technology stocks led the decline, falling 3.59 percent and 2.07 percent, respectively. Health care and consumer staples were among the few bright spots, rising 0.58 percent and 0.53 percent.

Markets were also rattled by a sweeping executive order signed by Trump on Thursday, which hiked tariffs on Canadian goods to 35 percent and set "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of other countries.

(With input from agencies)