Trump Fires BLS Commissioner After Largest Job Data Revisions Amid Fraud Claims

President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of producing politically motivated and rigged employment data, particularly targeting the agency's recent downward revisions to U.S. jobs figures. After a July report showed a weaker-than-expected gain of 73,000 jobs and significant downward revisions to May and June job numbers, Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, alleging without evidence that she manipulated data to favor Joe Biden in the 2024 election. Trump claimed that the BLS inflated job numbers before the election to benefit Biden and revised them downward afterward to reflect reality. Critics, including economists and journalists, have pointed out that the BLS uses established statistical methods and that revisions are a normal part of labor data reporting, warning that Trump's firing of McEntarfer risks undermining confidence in the agency’s data. The BLS, an independent agency staffed by over 2,000 economists and surveyors, collects employment data through household and establishment surveys, and its methodology is considered a high standard by experts. Trump also discussed possible nominees for Federal Reserve Chair amid these controversies, while the BLS continues to operate under scrutiny following McEntarfer's departure.