The White House on Sunday defended President Donald Trump’s decision to fire Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), following a controversial jobs report revision that showed 258,000 fewer jobs created than initially reported.
Despite providing no evidence of misconduct, President Trump accused McEntarfer of manipulating jobs data and announced plans to appoint a new commissioner within days. Economic advisers say the president has “real concerns” about the accuracy of recent figures.
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett backed the move, saying on Fox News that “the president is right to call for new leadership.” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer added that extreme data revisions were part of the concern.
Friday’s BLS report included significant downward revisions to job numbers from May and June. Although such adjustments are routine, experts noted the magnitude of the change was unusually large. The BLS stated that these revisions stemmed from additional data received after initial estimates and seasonal recalculations—standard procedures in employment reporting.
McEntarfer responded on Bluesky, calling it the honor of her life to lead the BLS and commending her colleagues. Her dismissal has sparked alarm among economists and former government officials, who worry that the decision threatens the credibility of U.S. economic statistics.
“There is no way for a commissioner to rig the numbers,” said former BLS head William Beach. “Revisions happen annually. I oversaw a 500,000-job correction during Trump’s first term.”
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers called the accusations “preposterous,” emphasising that jobs data are compiled by hundreds of trained professionals following strict, transparent procedures.
The firing comes at a sensitive time for global markets. Trump’s new round of tariffs on key trade partners has already rattled investors. Further instability followed with the surprise resignation of Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler, raising concerns over leadership succession at the central bank.
One underlying issue is the decreasing employer response rate to BLS surveys—down from over 80% in 2020 to 67.1% in July 2025. This has made late data submissions and subsequent revisions more common. May’s downward revision of 125,000 jobs was the largest of its kind since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan highlighted the growing need for better data reliability: “We need to make economic data more resilient, predictable, and understandable. Otherwise, constant restatements erode public trust.”
As the administration moves to install new leadership at the BLS and the Fed, observers warn that the politicization of statistical agencies could have lasting consequences on both economic policymaking and public confidence.