Markets react after Trump fires Erika McEntarfer over disputed US job data and steep revision totals
A two-month downward revision of 258,000 US jobs—the largest since the early COVID-19 crisis—triggered US President Donald Trump’s abrupt dismissal of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.
The move has sparked warnings over data reliability in federal economic reporting.
The BLS reported a gain of just 73,000 nonfarm jobs in July and revised May and June job counts down by a combined 258,000, putting the three-month average at only 35,000—the slowest since April 2020, as reported by CNBC.
Following the data release, Trump accused McEntarfer of manipulating the numbers and said in a Truth Social post that she “faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory.”
The US president added that he had directed his team to remove her “IMMEDIATELY.”
According to CNN, the BLS clarified that the revisions came from additional data submissions and recalculation of seasonal adjustments—common practice in its monthly employment estimates.
Trump, however, incorrectly called the revisions a “major mistake” and claimed, “similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative.”
Critics, including economists and former federal officials, have warned the firing could shake public confidence in economic statistics that inform business and investment decisions.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told CNN that BLS data “is at the highest standard” and that “anything that undermines that or even the perception of that high standard is deeply worrisome.”
As per the Wall Street Journal, McEntarfer’s departure leaves Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski in the acting role.
McEntarfer, a career economist confirmed by the Senate in an 86–8 vote in January 2024, served under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
She was previously part of the Census Bureau and the Biden White House Council of Economic Advisers.
The BLS has been operating under increasing strain, reported the Wall Street Journal.
A federal hiring freeze has led to staffing shortages, prompting heavier use of imputed data—estimates made when actual data is unavailable.
Earlier this year, the agency stopped collecting US Consumer Price Index data in three cities and relied more on statistical guesswork, a trend Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he was “concerned about” in June testimony to Congress.
In response to McEntarfer’s dismissal, the Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics—a bipartisan group of former BLS commissioners—issued a statement quoted by the New York Times.
The group said, “The commissioner does not determine what the numbers are but simply reports on what the data show.”
The group added that the BLS’ decentralized data-gathering structure is meant to insulate it from political interference.
Trump's own former appointee to the BLS, William Beach, told CNBC that the firing “sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau.”
Beach also noted that large revisions are not unusual: “When I was commissioner, we had a 500,000 job revision during President Trump's first term.”
Despite past criticism of BLS figures, Trump and his administration have publicly praised the agency when job numbers met expectations.
CNN reported that in March 2017, former press secretary Sean Spicer declared the jobs numbers “no longer phony” following a strong report, and in June, current White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cited four consecutive months of better-than-expected jobs gains.
White House economic advisers defended Trump’s decision over the weekend.
Kevin Hassett, director of the US National Economic Council, said on Fox News that “the president is right to call for new leadership,” while US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer acknowledged on CBS that “sometimes you see these revisions go in really extreme ways.”
McEntarfer responded briefly on Bluesky, calling it “the honour of her life” to lead the BLS and praising its civil servants. She has not commented further.
Trump said he would name a replacement within days.
The US labour report’s release preceded a sharp drop in financial markets.
As per CNBC, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 500 points and the Nasdaq declined over 2 percent, while Treasury yields also slumped.
The Federal Open Market Committee had voted earlier in the week to hold interest rates steady, but after the job numbers, futures markets priced in an increased chance of a September rate cut.
According to the Wall Street Journal, McEntarfer had been candid about the bureau’s ongoing challenges.
In a January appearance before the Atlanta Economics Club, she said fewer people were responding to surveys and the cost of producing economic data was rising.
“We face real challenges at the federal level… which endanger much of the official data,” she said. However, she maintained that “the official economic indicators remain fundamental.”
