Trump Orders Dismissal of Labor Department Official Amid Employment Data Critique
On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump directed the termination of Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, following disappointing employment growth figures for July and significant downward revisions of job counts for the previous two months.
McEntarfer, who was nominated by former President Joe Biden in 2023 and confirmed by the Senate the following year, may have been dismissed, but confirmation of her firing remains pending. Trump took to his Truth Social account to announce the decision.
In his post, Trump criticized McEntarfer for allegedly providing misleading job statistics. “We need accurate job numbers. I have directed my team to fire this Biden political appointee IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified,” he stated.
There is currently no evidence to support Trump’s claims that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) manipulated employment data. The BLS is responsible for compiling employment reports and other key economic indicators.
The White House has yet to respond to inquiries regarding Trump’s announcement.
Claims of Political Motives
According to Reuters, Trump suggested that McEntarfer released job figures before elections to benefit Democrats. Her dismissal comes amid concerns about the integrity of U.S. economic data, especially following mass layoffs of federal workers under the Trump administration.
Later, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer confirmed on X that McEntarfer was no longer in her role, and that William Wiatrowski, deputy commissioner, would act as interim director. “I support the President’s decision to replace Biden’s Commissioner to ensure the American people can trust the critical data from the BLS,” she said.
Earlier in the year, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick disbanded two panels that had assisted in producing economic statistics and proposed changes to the GDP calculation, suggesting exclusion of government spending due to concerns about its historical inconsistencies.
Concerns Over Data Integrity
McEntarfer’s removal has raised alarms among economists, public sector unions, and advocates for data transparency, as some Trump-aligned Republicans have labeled her a “Biden holdover.” Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, defended the professionalism of BLS staff, stating, “The civil servants at BLS are dedicated to delivering accurate, independent data, no matter who is in power.”
While the rationale behind McEntarfer’s dismissal remains unclear, supporters of Trump view it as an effort to eliminate lingering Biden-era officials. This situation has sparked broader concerns regarding the potential politicization of economic data.
“Politicizing economic statistics is a self-defeating act,” stated Michael Madowitz, a principal economist at the Roosevelt Institute’s Roosevelt Forward. He cautioned, “Credibility is much easier to lose than to recover, and the integrity of U.S. economic data is foundational to our strong economy. Misleading the public about the economy has a lengthy history, and it seldom ends well.”
Earlier in 2025, Lutnick dismantled two advisory committees that worked on U.S. economic statistics, and he also suggested changes to GDP calculations.
Meanwhile, the BLS has reduced data collection for crucial reports due to budget constraints, including diminished sample sizes for both the consumer and producer price indexes. The monthly employment survey, which traditionally gathers data from approximately 121,000 businesses and agencies covering over 600,000 worksites, has seen its response rate drop from 80.3% in October 2020 to just 67.1% in July.
Given these shifts in data practices and escalating political tensions, experts are increasingly concerned about the potential loss of perceived impartiality in U.S. economic data.
Economists’ Insights
Economists have linked the notably slow job growth, with only 73,000 jobs created in July, to Trump’s trade and immigration policies. Additionally, revised data for May and June indicated 258,000 fewer jobs than previously reported. As noted in a CNBC report, Laura Ulrich, director of economic research for North America at job site Indeed, commented that July’s figures suggest the job market is not keeping pace with population growth and is, therefore, contracting.
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