Trump dismisses the leader of statistics department
====================================================================================================
The U.S. labor market, a key factor influencing the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve, continued to show strong but slowing growth in the mid-2020s, with low unemployment rates and sector-specific job expansions amid some economic uncertainty.
Recent data from 2024 and 2025 reveal that nonfarm payrolls consistently increased by over 100,000 jobs per month on average, with unemployment rates hovering around 4.1% to 4.2%. This robust job growth was particularly noticeable in the healthcare, social assistance, and leisure sectors. Wages were also rising briskly, outpacing pre-pandemic growth rates.
However, the labor market data has raised concerns among some economists, who argue that it signals a significant cooling of the U.S. economy. Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank, stated that the weak labor market data indicates potential challenges for the U.S. economy.
Despite these concerns, the Federal Reserve chose to keep interest rates unchanged, bucking repeated calls from U.S. President Donald Trump for a rate cut to boost the economy.
Contrary to some rumors, President Trump did not fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2022. There is no credible record or report indicating such an event occurred during that year or in relation to President Trump, who left office in January 2021.
In 2023, during the presidency of Joe Biden, President Trump nominated Erika McEntarfer for the role of BLS head. However, there is no verified information supporting that McEntarfer was indeed fired from this position.
The labor market data also suggests that the trade policies of the U.S. government may be putting more strain on economic development than previously thought. The weak labor market data indicates that the U.S. economy is not responding positively to the trade policies implemented by the U.S. government.
This political and economic landscape has resulted in cuts in the federal budget, leading to layoffs at universities and non-profit organizations. The situation on the U.S. labor market is crucial for the monetary policy of the U.S. central bank, making it a closely watched factor by financial markets.
In July 2025, the number of jobs created was revised down from 147,000 to 14,000. Despite this, the unemployment rate only rose by 0.1 percentage points to 4.2 percent. Outside of agriculture, only 73,000 new jobs were added, which is less than the expected 110,000.
These developments have led to temporary widening of losses in the major stock indices on Wall Street, as investors grapple with the implications of the weak labor market data and the political controversies surrounding the U.S. labor market.
[1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [2] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [3] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- The potential challenges facing the U.S. economy, as indicated by the weak labor market data, are causing economists to reevaluate policy-and-legislation, particularly the employment policy and community policy to mitigate the effects on the labor market.
- The general-news outlets are closely following the political and economic developments within the U.S., with a focus on the labor market, as it plays a significant role in policy-and-legislation, including employment policy, and affects the monetary policy decisions made by the Federal Reserve.
