WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has dismissed Erika McEntarfer, the U.S. Commissioner of Labor Statistics, alleging—without offering proof—that she manipulated employment data “for political purposes.” The decision followed the release of a disappointing July jobs report showing only 73,000 jobs added.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said he had “just been informed that our Country’s ‘Jobs Numbers’ are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer.”
“We need accurate Jobs Numbers,” Trump wrote, pledging to appoint “someone much more competent and qualified.” He emphasized that economic data “can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”
McEntarfer, a labor economist with two decades of experience in federal service—including roles at the U.S. Census Bureau and Treasury Department—was confirmed by the Senate in January 2024 after being nominated by then-President Joe Biden.
Friday’s report not only showed weaker-than-expected job creation—well below the projected 105,000—but also included downward revisions of 258,000 jobs for May and June, suggesting the labor market earlier this year was less robust than initially believed.
“McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months. Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative,” Trump posted.
Despite frequently citing strong economic performance under his administration, Trump claimed the latest numbers were “RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”
Speaking to reporters later, he doubled down, stating, “I fired her because I think her numbers were wrong.”
Trump also accused McEntarfer of “faking the jobs numbers before the (2024) election” to benefit Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. He referenced positive jobs reports under Biden in 2024 that were later revised downward.
Experts Reject Trump’s Allegations
Several former officials from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) swiftly pushed back, calling Trump’s claims implausible.
“The Commissioner does not determine what the numbers are but simply reports on what the data show,” a group of BLS supporters said in a statement co-signed by William Beach, who served as Commissioner during Trump’s first term. “The process of obtaining the numbers is decentralized by design to avoid opportunities for prying.”
Beach and others said Trump’s accusations undermine the integrity and professionalism of career civil servants who compile the reports.
Heidi Shierholz, chief economist at the Labor Department from 2014 to early 2017 under President Barack Obama, said the claims demonstrate “a total misunderstanding of how government statistical agencies work.”
“These numbers are created by career employees, not political appointees,” she explained. “The idea that the commissioner alone could manipulate them is absurd—too many people are involved who would immediately notice.”
Keith Hall, BLS Commissioner from 2008 to 2011, echoed that sentiment. He said the employment figures are “very intentionally something you couldn’t play with,” noting that hundreds of employees contribute and around 8–10 people see the final figure before publication.
“All of the data and industry statistics need to align,” said Hall, a Republican appointed by George W. Bush who also served under Obama. “It’s essentially impossible for the numbers to be fudged.”
Trump Repeats False Claims About 2024 Revisions
Trump also alleged that employment figures were manipulated in 2024 and then revised after the election to hurt his campaign.
“They came out with numbers that were very favorable to Kamala. They were trying to get her elected,” Trump told reporters. “But then on the 15th of November, or thereabouts, they had an 800,000 or 900,000 reduction—right after the election. But it didn’t work.”
That claim is inaccurate. In truth, the Labor Department in August 2024—three months before the election—announced an 818,000-job downward revision for the 12-month period ending in March 2024. It was the largest such adjustment in 15 years.
“We’re doing so well. I believe the numbers were phony,” Trump said of the recent report. “So you know what I did? I fired her.”
He has not yet announced a nominee to replace McEntarfer.
Initially, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer did not question the report’s accuracy. But after Trump raised concerns, she issued a statement aligning with him, saying she agreed “wholeheartedly with the president that our jobs numbers must be fair, accurate, and never manipulated for political purposes.”
Experts Say Process is Built to Prevent Manipulation
Hall noted that BLS commissioners typically only see the data once the report has been drafted. The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers gets access the night before it’s made public.
“There’s a strong culture at BLS to be transparent with all things,” said Hall, now a distinguished visiting fellow at the Mercatus Center. “That’s a big deal.”
He added pointedly: “I trust BLS more than I trust the Trump administration. If the president wants to know what made the numbers weak, he needs to look in the mirror, not at BLS.”
If the economy is in fact slowing down, Hall said that trend will also emerge in other government data, serving as a cross-check on BLS figures.
An earlier investigation by the Commerce Department’s Inspector General found that any attempt to falsify unemployment data would require a coordinated conspiracy among 78 field agents in a single Census Bureau office—something that quality control procedures would almost certainly uncover.
