By AP Economics Writer Christopher Al Gerber
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday removed the head of the agency that generates monthly job numbers after reporting that jobs were slower in July and is much weaker than previously reported.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump argued that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said Erica Mantelfer, director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence of the charges.
“I have directed the team to fire this Biden political appointee right away,” Trump said in The Truth Society. “She’ll be replaced by a much more capable and qualified person.”
Trump posted later. “In my opinion, the number of jobs today was equipped to create Republicans.
The accusations that the data has been forged are explosives that threaten to undermine the political legitimacy of US government economic data, which has long been seen as the “gold standard” of economic measurement worldwide. Economists and Wall Street investors have long accepted data as politically unbiased.
Trump’s move to fire Mentarfer represents another extraordinary claim of presidential rights. He exercised White House authority to control the global international trade system, media companies, top universities in America, and the constitutional power of Congress wallets.
“Firing the commissioner… when BLS revised its employment numbers (as it is on a daily basis) they threatened to destroy core American institutions and all government statistics,” said Allyn Dube, an economist at Amherst University in Massachusetts, “I can’t stress that it hurts.”
After Trump’s first post, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez Deremar said in X that Mcentarfer is no longer leading the department and that deputy commissioner William Wiatrowski will serve as acting director.
“I support the president’s decision to replace Biden’s commissioner and enable Americans to trust the critical and influential data coming from the BLS,” said Chavez Delemer.
A employment report on Friday showed that 73,000 jobs were added last month, creating 258,000 fewer jobs in May and June than previously estimated. The report suggests a pattern coincided with a sharp weakening of the economy during Trump’s tenure, a slower economic growth in the first half of the year, and an increase in inflation in June, which appears to reflect price pressures created by the president’s tariffs.
“What do bad leaders do when they get bad news? They shoot messengers,” New York Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer said in a speech Friday.
McEntarfer was appointed Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. The commissioner usually serves a four-year term, but is a political appointee and can be fired. The commissioner is the agency’s sole political appointee and has hundreds of career civil servants.
The Senate confirmed Mentarfer to post 86-8, and now Vice President JD Vance voted in the Yea vote.
Trump focused much of his anger on revisions made by the agency to previous employment data. Employment benefits in May were revised from the previously revised 125,000 to just 19,000, and were reduced from 147,000 to 14,000 in June. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate has been marked from 4.1% to a low of 4.2%.
“Can’t anyone do that wrong? You need accurate work numbers,” Trump wrote. “She’ll be replaced by a much more capable and qualified person. Such important figures must be fair and accurate. They cannot be manipulated for political purposes.”
Trump isn’t so suspicious of his monthly employment report, responding enthusiastically on June 6th after the first May figures reported that the economy had added 139,000 jobs.
“Amazing job numbers, the stock market is big!” Trump posted at the time.
That estimate was subsequently revised to 125,000 jobs, with the largest revisions down to just 19,000.
Monthly employment reports are one of the most closely monitored portions of government economic data and can cause sharp fluctuations in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent a market index about 1.5% lower on Friday.
The number revisions for May and June were huge and surprising to many economists. At the same time, all monthly employment reports include revisions to figures over the past two months. These revisions occur as the government receives more responses to the investigation. This helps to provide a more complete situation of employment trends each month.
Over the past decade, businesses have taken longer to respond.
Monthly employment reports have long been closely followed within the BLS, with early copies kept safe and key under lock to prevent leaks and early adoption.
Original issue: August 1, 2025, 2:46pm EDT
