Trump Calls for Dismissal of Labor Official Following Weak Jobs Report

President Trump called for the dismissal of Erika McEntarfer, head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, following a report showing U.S. employers added only 73,000 jobs in July and previous months' gains were revised downward. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% as labor force participation declined, with nearly 40,000 people leaving the workforce last month.

Trump, who announced new tariffs on a range of countries the day before the report, accused the jobs data of being manipulated for political purposes and stated on social media that McEntarfer would be replaced with someone "much more competent and qualified." McEntarfer, appointed during the Biden administration, was not due to leave her post until 2028, but federal law allows the president to remove the commissioner before the end of the term.

The manufacturing sector lost 11,000 jobs in July, and the federal government shed 12,000 positions, continuing a trend of workforce reductions. Factory managers cited ongoing uncertainty over tariffs as a factor depressing orders and activity, with one anonymous manager in an industry survey describing the situation as "difficult" and costly.

Despite the slowdown in hiring, average wages in July rose 3.9% from a year earlier, outpacing inflation. Jed Kolko, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, attributed much of the slowdown to reduced labor supply, particularly in sectors reliant on immigrant workers.

The weak jobs data is expected to increase pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates at its upcoming September meeting. The Fed, which kept rates steady earlier this week, is also preparing for the resignation of Governor Adriana Kugler, who will return to academia.