Trump’s USA

US Job Numbers
Advisor: Trump wants to appoint his own people

Donald Trump wants to appoint his "own people" at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is what White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told NBC after Friday's announcement that Chief of Statistics Erika McEntarfer was fired after the unexpectedly weak jobs figures.

– The president wants his own people there so that when we see the numbers, they are more transparent and reliable, Hassett tells the TV channel.

And if there are major downward revisions, the White House wants to know why and that people from the agency should explain it, he adds.

The adviser tells Fox News that someone with fresh eyes is needed to “clean up” the agency.

In Friday’s jobs report, job growth for May and June was revised down by a total of 258,000 jobs. Trump accused McEntire of manipulating the numbers.

Trump's Former Chief of Statistics Sees the Dismissal

Donald Trump's decision to fire the Chief of Statistics Erika McEntarfer is being criticized by her predecessor, William Beach, who was appointed by Trump himself.

- I don't know if there are any reasons for this dismissal, he tells CNN.

Beach also believes that the measure damages trust in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "the finest statistical agency in the world". 

US job figures 

Analysis: Trump’s rule increasingly resembles something out of Orwell

There have been similar signs before, but this was the week when Donald Trump’s rule took on authoritarian features, writes CNN’s Aaron Blake.

First came the news that the White House had pressured the Smithsonian’s National History Museum to remove an information sign about Trump’s two impeachment charges. A few days later, Trump announced that he was firing a statistics director at the Labor Department over poor job numbers. Blake calls the development “Orwellian” and potentially very damaging. It’s a surefire recipe for fabricated numbers. Numbers that investors, business leaders and policymakers will then have to relate to.

“What if the next jobs report is good? Will the market believe it?” Blake writes.

The New York Times’ Peter Baker also warns of the consequences of McEntarfer’s firing. It is also based on incorrect premises. Trump claimed, among other things, that McEntarfer presented good numbers for Joe Biden before the election and adjusted them down shortly after Trump’s election victory in 2024.

“It’s just that in reality it was the exact opposite. The number was revised down in August 2024 – before the election, not after.”