US President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed Erika McEntarfer, Commissioner of Labor Statistics, alleging she manipulated employment data for political reasons following the release of a disappointing July jobs report.
The Labor Department reported that the US economy added only 73,000 jobs in July, with unemployment rising slightly from 4.1% to 4.2%. Revisions also showed that May and June figures were slashed drastically, from 144,000 to 19,000, and from 147,000 to 14,000, respectively—making it the weakest labor performance since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump, reacting to the data, took to Truth Social, saying, “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.”
He added, “Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative,”
but maintained that the US economy was “booming” under his leadership.
Analysts, however, see signs of strain. Heather Long, chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, described the report as a turning point, “This is a gamechanger jobs report. The labor market is deteriorating quickly.”
She noted that, “75 percent of those jobs were in one sector: health care.”
The US has averaged just 35,000 jobs per month since May, with businesses showing hiring restraint amid Trump’s ongoing tariff policies. Industries affected by these tariffs—especially on steel, aluminum, autos, and other imports—have faced rising costs. As a result, some companies have slowed hiring or begun passing costs to consumers.
Joel Kan, an economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, observed, “Goods-producing industries saw contraction for the third straight month.”
He further noted, “Service industries involved in trade also saw declines in job growth, potentially a result of the uncertain tariff environment, as businesses either put their activity on pause or pulled back altogether.”
Trump has recently escalated tensions by reimposing steeper tariffs on multiple economies, including raising Canadian import tariffs to 35%, though some exemptions remain in place.
The weak jobs report could also influence the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates. Two officials—Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller—warned that waiting too long to cut rates might harm the economy further.
Bowman stated, “Putting off an interest rate cut could result in a deterioration in the labor market and a further slowing in economic growth.”
Waller echoed this concern, saying, “I believe that the wait and see approach is overly cautious.”
As businesses, economists, and political figures digest the implications, Trump’s abrupt firing of McEntarfer adds further controversy to an already tense economic climate.
