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Investing.com -- President Donald Trump announced plans to fire Dr. Erika McEntarfer, Commissioner of Labor Statistics, accusing her of manipulating employment data for political purposes during the election.
In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed McEntarfer, a Biden appointee, "faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory." He referenced alleged overstatements in jobs growth, including approximately 818,000 in March 2024 and 112,000 in August and September.
The announcement follows Friday’s release of weaker-than-expected July employment data showing only 73,000 nonfarm payroll jobs added, significantly below forecasts. The report also included substantial downward revisions of 258,000 jobs for the previous two months. The unemployment rate increased slightly to 4.2%.
Trump stated he has "directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY" and plans to replace McEntarfer with "someone much more competent and qualified."
The president also criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, suggesting the Fed "plays games" with interest rates, having lowered them twice before the presidential election to potentially help Kamala Harris’s campaign.
The disappointing jobs report impacted financial markets, pushing stocks lower while reducing U.S. government bond yields. Market expectations now favor Federal Reserve interest rate cuts beginning at its September meeting, with additional reductions anticipated afterward.