Executive Summary
- President Trump’s claims that Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs reports were a “scam” or “rigged” faced a setback after updated government data revealed a more concerning economic outlook.
- Trump had publicly deemed the July jobs report as “rigged” and subsequently fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, with administration officials asserting inadequate data collection methods.
- Friday’s updated jobs report indicated hiring continued to stall, with the number of jobs actually falling in June for the first time since 2020, and revisions were significantly less pronounced than in previous months, challenging the administration’s narrative.
The Story So Far
- President Donald Trump had previously dismissed the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs reports as a “scam” and “rigged,” which culminated in his firing of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. This move was defended by his administration, which asserted that the BLS’s data collection methods were inadequate and its month-to-month revisions were excessively dramatic, thereby rendering the data untrustworthy and necessitating reform within the agency.
Why This Matters
- The updated jobs report, revealing a worsening economic outlook and less dramatic revisions, directly undermines President Trump’s prior claims of a “scam” or “rigged” federal jobs data, particularly after his administration fired the BLS Commissioner citing data integrity issues. This development challenges the administration’s narrative regarding the reliability of federal employment statistics and raises questions about the rationale behind the commissioner’s dismissal.
Who Thinks What?
- Donald Trump and his administration claimed the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs reports were “rigged,” a “scam,” and that the agency’s data collection methods were inadequate, leading to overly dramatic revisions.
- Updated government data, however, showed an even more concerning economic outlook with jobs falling in June for the first time since 2020, and the revisions to the data were significantly less pronounced than in previous months.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to discredit the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs reports, which he previously labeled a “scam” and “rigged,” reportedly faced a significant setback on Friday. This occurred after updated government data revealed an even more concerning economic outlook for the U.S., despite the administration’s claims of faulty data collection and dramatic revisions. The developments follow Trump’s recent firing of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.
Administration’s Claims and Actions
Last month, Trump had publicly deemed the July jobs report as “rigged” and subsequently removed Erika McEntarfer from her position as Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner. Following her dismissal, top administration officials defended the President’s actions, asserting that the BLS’s data collection methods were inadequate and that month-to-month revisions to the jobs report were excessively dramatic, rendering the data untrustworthy. They indicated a new commissioner was needed to oversee reforms within the agency.
Updated Jobs Report Challenges Narrative
Despite the change in leadership at the BLS, Friday’s updated jobs report presented a challenging economic picture. The data indicated that hiring continued to stall, with the number of jobs actually falling in June for the first time since 2020. Notably, the revisions to the data, which the Trump administration had vociferously criticized as too dramatic, were significantly less pronounced than in previous months.
The updated jobs report, which showed a worsening economic situation and less dramatic revisions, effectively undermined the administration’s prior claims of a “scam” or “vendetta” against the presidency. The data that the Trump administration had cited as evidence of corruption or historical inaccuracy was neither. This outcome has called into question the administration’s narrative regarding the integrity of federal employment data.
