Live Updates: After a Weak Jobs Report, Trump Fires That Agency’s Commissioner
Hours after data showed cracks in the U.S. economy, President Trump said without evidence that Erika McEntarfer “rigged” the data “to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”
Monthly change in jobs
+300,000
+73,000 jobs
in July
Growth in May and June was lower than initially estimated.
+200,000
+100,000
REVISED
DOWN
July ’24
Sept.
Nov.
Jan. ’25
March
May
July
Hours after disappointing jobs data reflected cracks in the U.S. economy, President Trump said Friday that he fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, and said without evidence on social media that she “rigged” the data “to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”
Mr. Trump and his top aides have made a habit of attacking government agencies, researchers and watchdogs when they have produced findings that the president personally does not like. That has led to concerns that he could seek to interfere with the operations of statistical agencies, particularly if the economy begins to take a turn for the worse.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the Labor secretary, echoed Mr. Trump’s concerns about Dr. McEntarfer on social media and said that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as acting commissioner until a replacement is found.
According to the data released early Friday, U.S. employers added 73,000 jobs in July, less than economists expected, and the unemployment rate rose slightly. The report on also significantly revised down the data on hiring from May and June by a combined 258,000 jobs, suggesting the labor market was under greater strain than initially believed. That moved the bond market in particular, with U.S. Treasury yields falling sharply as investors anticipated that the Federal Reserve could be more willing to cut interest ratesto bolster a flagging economy.
The dollar also dropped against other major currencies and the S&P 500 ended the day down 1.6 percent, capping one of the index’s worst weeks since Mr. Trump wrought chaos across the global trading system when he unveiled his first round of steep tariffs in April. The benchmark fell 2.4 percent for the week.
The jobs data offered only the latest indication that Mr. Trump’s policies — particularly his global trade war, which the president expanded on Thursday — had started to put the squeeze on the economy. Other economic data released this week offered fresh evidence that Mr. Trump’s duties had slowed trade and started to send prices higher.
The developments created new complications for the Fed. The central bank opted to hold interest rates steady earlier this week in an attempt to keep prices from soaring, even as some called on the Fed to lower borrowing costs to ease strain in the labor market. In his first comments after the release of the jobs report, Mr. Trump renewed his attacks on the Fed and its chair, Jerome H. Powell, calling him a “disaster” and demanding he lower rates.
Later Friday, the Federal Reserve announced that Adriana D. Kugler will step down from her position as a governor on the Federal Reserve Board on Aug. 8. Her term was set to expire in January and her early resignation gives Mr. Trump the opportunity to appoint someone who could replace Mr. Powell as chair.
Here’s what else to know:
Higher tariffs: The president late Thursday announced a dramatic widening of his trade war, slapping major new tariffs on dozens of countries that take effect on Aug. 7. Switzerland was stunned by a 39 percent tariff, among the highest in the world. Goods from Syria, Laos and Myanmar were hit with rates of 40 to 41 percent. India received a 25 percent tariff, as Mr. Trump’s previously warm relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has soured. All countries not issued new tariff rates would be subject to a base line 10 percent rate, while Japan, South Korea and the European Union, which recently secured trade agreements with the United States, received the rates they had negotiated.
China factories: Mr. Trump’s order also established a 40 percent tariff on anything that Customs and Border Protection determines has been “transshipped” to avoid higher duties on goods coming from their country of origin. Experts said the move was an effort to box in China, with its mammoth factory infrastructure, and could weigh on the Trump administration’s ongoing talks with Beijing over a trade deal.
Mexico reprieve: The United States and Mexico agreed to keep talking about a potential trade deal for 90 more days, averting the heavier tariffs Mr. Trump had threatened to impose on America’s largest trading partner just before they were set to begin. But Mr. Trump imposed a 35 percent tariff on Canada, to the north,
Trade deficit: Mr. Trump’s executive order said he was acting because “large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.” While the United States runs a small surplus in services trade, its deficit in goods reached a record $1.2 trillion last year and has been widening for decades.
Federal jobs: The federal government shed 12,000 jobs in July as the Trump administration continued to aggressively downsizes the federal work force. And manufacturing jobs fell by 11,000 last month, even though Mr. Trump is trying to use the tariffs to increase that number.
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