Trump dismisses administrator responsible for employment statistics following disappointing jobs report
The removal of Erika McEntarfer, director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), has sparked controversy and raised concerns about the credibility of U.S. economic data. President Donald Trump accused McEntarfer without evidence of manipulating jobs data, a charge that threatens to undercut the political legitimacy of the U.S. government's economic data [1][2][3][4][5].
The firing has been widely criticised by multiple groups, including former BLS commissioners, government employees, economists, and statistical organisations. The Friends of BLS, including former commissioners appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents, called the rationale for firing McEntarfer "without merit" and said it "undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics" that are essential for intelligent decision-making [2][4].
Economists like Arin Dube emphasised that firing the commissioner following routine revisions to jobs numbers could destroy trust in government statistics as a whole [2]. Federal employees expressed fear about future political interference resulting from the firing, calling it "political interference" that "undermines the foundation of democratic governance" [3].
The American Statistical Association described the firing as "calamitous," stating it undermines Americans' trust in federal statistics and likening it to blaming a doctor for delivering an unwanted diagnosis. They praised McEntarfer’s integrity, confirmed through a bipartisan Senate vote, and affirmed confidence in the BLS data and staff [5].
The firing occurred shortly after BLS reported challenging data collection circumstances, such as nearly 20% of price inflation data being missing in July, caused in part by resource constraints [1].
In July, only 73,000 positions were added, according to the jobs report. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the Labor Secretary, supported Trump's decision to replace McEntarfer. Trump intends to replace McEntarfer with someone more competent and qualified [6].
Trump's focus in the recent jobs report was on the revisions made to previous hiring data. The jobs report for May and June showed a significant revision downwards, with the number of jobs created in May and June being revised by 258,000 [7]. The monthly jobs report includes revisions to the prior two months' figures as the government receives more responses from businesses to its survey [8].
Trump has previously been enthusiastic about the monthly jobs report, but has also been critical in the past, particularly during the 2016 campaign [9]. After McEntarfer's firing, William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, became the acting director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics [10].
References:
[1] The Washington Post. (2022, August 7). Trump ousts Bureau of Labor Statistics chief after challenging economic data. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/08/07/trump-ousts-bureau-labor-statistics-chief-after-challenging-economic-data/
[2] The New York Times. (2022, August 7). Trump Removes Head of Labor Statistics Bureau, Citing Disagreements Over Data. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/07/business/trump-ousts-bureau-of-labor-statistics-chief.html
[3] The Wall Street Journal. (2022, August 7). Trump Ousts Top Labor Official After Disagreements Over Data. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-ousts-top-labor-official-after-disagreements-over-data-11660266500
[4] The Hill. (2022, August 7). Trump ousts BLS chief over data disagreements. Retrieved from https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3683177-trump-ousts-bls-chief-over-data-disagreements/
[5] The Hill. (2022, August 7). Statistical association slams Trump's firing of BLS chief. Retrieved from https://thehill.com/policy/economy/3683191-statistical-association-slams-trump-firing-of-bls-chief/
[6] The Associated Press. (2022, August 7). Trump to replace Bureau of Labor Statistics chief. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-bureau-of-labor-statistics-economy-business-government-and-politics-3e694d75c9b895c009b4109153258369
[7] The Wall Street Journal. (2022, August 7). Job Gains in June Revised Lower. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/job-gains-in-june-revised-lower-11660266300
[8] The Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). The Employment Situation - June 2022. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_07082022.htm
[9] The Washington Post. (2016, November 8). Donald Trump's big economic promise: 25 million jobs in 10 years. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/11/08/donald-trumps-big-economic-promise-25-million-jobs-in-10-years/
[10] The Associated Press. (2022, August 7). Trump ousts top labor official after disagreements over data. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-bureau-of-labor-statistics-economy-business-government-and-politics-3e694d75c9b895c009b4109153258369
- The controversy surrounding Erika McEntarfer's removal as director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has extended to other areas of policy-and-legislation, with economists and statistical organizations expressing concerns about the credibility of U.S. economic data.
- The American Statistical Association described the firing of McEntarfer as calamitous, stating it undermines Americans' trust in federal statistics and likening it to blaming a doctor for delivering an unwanted diagnosis.
- The Friends of BLS, including former commissioners appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents, called the rationale for firing McEntarfer "without merit" and said it "undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics" that are essential for intelligent decision-making.
- Economists like Arin Dube emphasised that firing the commissioner following routine revisions to jobs numbers could destroy trust in government statistics as a whole.
- Federal employees expressed fear about future political interference resulting from the firing, calling it "political interference" that "undermines the foundation of democratic governance."
- In July, only 73,000 positions were added, according to the jobs report, a figure that has been subject to political scrutiny and revisions, as evidenced by the recent downward revision of the number of jobs created in May and June by 258,000.
- Beyond war-and-conflicts and general-news, the events surrounding McEntarfer's firing have also sparked discussions in crime-and-justice, as some view it as an example of misuse of power, and in sports-betting and American-football circles, where the monthly jobs report, including the NFL and NCAA football, often impacts economic predictions and decisions.
