Trump fires BLS commissioner after U.S. added only 73,000 jobs in July

· UPI

Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Jobs growth was slower than expected as the unemployment rate rose in July, leading to Friday's firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.

President Donald Trump accused McEntarfer of rigging the July jobs report, which showed 73,000 new jobs, which is less than half of the initially reported 147,000 jobs created in June.

"Today's jobs numbers were rigged in order to make Republicans and me look bad," Trump said Friday afternoon in a Truth Social post.

He said the BLS likewise produced a false jobs report in the days leading up to the Nov. 5 general election that were favorable to the Biden administration.

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"Then, those numbers were 'taken away' on Nov. 15, 2024, right after the election," Trump added.

He said the jobs numbers that the BLS reported before the election "were massively revised downward, making a correction of over 818,000 jobs."

Trump called the BLS reports a "total scam" and said, "The good news is, our country is doing great!"

President Joe Biden nominated McEntarfer to the BLS position in July 2023, and the Senate voted to confirm her in January 2024.

Trump accused McEntarfer of faking jobs numbers to boost former Vice President Kamala Harris' chances of winning the Nov. 5 presidential election.

"We need accurate jobs numbers," Trump said, as reported by CNBC.

"I have directed my team to fire this Biden political appointee immediately," Trump added. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified."

Trump and congressional Republicans consistently have criticized the revised BLS jobs reports.

Non-farm payroll for July was up by 73,000, but the Dow Jones' anticipated estimate was for 100,000 new jobs.

The totals for May and June were revised significantly, down by 258,000 from what was announced.

May was revised from 144,000 jobs added to 19,000 jobs added, while June's revision went from 147,000 jobs added to 14,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Situation Summary.

Revisions come from additional reports from businesses and government agencies since the last published numbers and seasonal factors.

Unemployment rose to 4.2%, which was predicted.

"This is a game-changer jobs report," said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, to CNBC. "The labor market is deteriorating quickly."

This is in sharp contrast to what ADP reported just two days ago.

The employment company's National Employment report said private sector employment increased by 104,000 jobs in July, a reversal of June when jobs were at a 23,000 loss, a count revised from a previously announced loss of 33,000.

"Our hiring and pay data are broadly indicative of a healthy economy," said ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson in a press release on July 30.

"Employers have grown more optimistic that consumers, the backbone of the economy, will remain resilient."

The health care industry added 55,000 jobs, which is higher than the monthly gain of 42,000 over the previous 12 months.

Those jobs were mostly in ambulatory care services and hospitals.

Social assistance employment added 18,000 jobs in July.

Federal government employment decreased by 12,000 jobs in July and is down by 84,000 since January.

The household survey was worse than the establishment survey of total payroll gains.

It showed a decline of 260,000 workers, with the participation rate at 62.2%, the lowest since November 2022.

The number of discouraged workers decreased by 212,000 in July to 425,000, largely offsetting an increase in the prior month.

Discouraged workers are those who believe that no jobs are available for them.

Those employed part-time for economic reasons, at 4.7 million, changed little in July.

These are people who wanted full-time employment but were working part-time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.

Trump administration officials, however, tried to present a more favorable review of the report.

In a statement online, U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the report "provides further evidence that the American people are seeing real progress as we recover from the failed economic policies of the previous administration."

While praising Trump's "bold America First agenda," Chavez-DeRemer said: "Wages continue to rise, and native-born workers have accounted for all job gains since Inauguration Day."

"We've seen consistent economic improvements across the board over the last several months," she added, "with more Americans enjoying lower prices, a booming stock market and half a million jobs created."