Washington, Aug 2 (AP) President Donald Trump on Friday removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported.

Trump, in a post on his social media platform, alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge.

“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on Truth Social. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.” Trump later posted: “In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.” The charge that the data was faked is an explosive one that threatens to undercut the political legitimacy of the US government's economic data, which has long been seen as the “gold standard” of economic measurement globally. Economists and Wall Street investors have for decades generally accepted the data as free from political bias.

Trump's move to fire McEntarfer represented another extraordinary assertion of presidential power. He has wielded the authority of the White House to try to control the world's international trade system, media companies, America's top universities and Congress' constitutional power of the purse, among other institutions.

McEntarfer's firing was roundly condemned by a group that included two former BLS commissioners, including William Beach, who was appointed by Trump to the position. They particularly objected to the charge that the data was altered for political reasons.

“This rationale for firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers,” the statement from the group, the Friends of BLS, said.

In addition to Beach, the statement was signed by Erica Groshen, BLS commissioner under former President Barack Obama.

“Firing the Commissioner ... when the BLS revises jobs numbers down (as it routinely does) threatens to destroy trust in core American institutions, and all government statistics,” Arin Dube, an economist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, said on X. “I can't stress how damaging this is.” After Trump's initial post, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director.

“I support the President's decision to replace Biden's Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,” Chavez-DeRemer said.

Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. The report suggested that the economy has sharply weakened during Trump's tenure, a pattern consistent with a slowdown in economic growth during the first half of the year and an increase in inflation during June that appeared to reflect the price pressures created by the president's tariffs.

“What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger,” Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a Friday speech.

McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms, but since they are political appointees, they can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants.

The Senate confirmed McEntarfer to her post 86-8, with now Vice President JD Vance among the yea votes.

Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from a previously revised 125,000, and for June, they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent.

“No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers,” Trump wrote. “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.” Trump has not always been so suspicious of the monthly jobs report and responded enthusiastically after the initial May figures came out on June 6, when it was initially reported that the economy added 139,000 jobs.

“GREAT JOB NUMBERS, STOCK MARKET UP BIG!” Trump posted at the time.

That estimate was later revised down to 125,000 jobs, prior to the most recent revision down to just 19,000.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump was more critical: He often attacked the jobs figures as they showed the unemployment rate steadily declining while Obama was still president, only to immediately switch to praising the data once he was in office, as steady job gains continued.

The monthly employment report is one of the most closely watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent the US market indexes about 1.5% lower on Friday.

The revisions to the May and June numbers were quite large and surprising to many economists. At the same time, every monthly jobs report includes revisions to the prior two months' figures. Those revisions occur as the government receives more responses from businesses to its survey, which helps provide a more complete picture of employment trends each month.

In the past decade, companies have taken longer to respond, which may have contributed to larger monthly revisions.

The proportion of companies responding to the surveys has also fallen steadily over the past 10 years, but the survey still gets responses from roughly 200,000 business locations, which can be independent companies or franchises of larger chains.

The monthly jobs report has long been closely guarded within the BLS, with early copies held in safes under lock and key to prevent any leaks or early dissemination. (AP) AMJ AMJ