National economy Trump wants to fire statistics chief over labor market figures
In view of surprisingly weak labor market figures, US President Donald Trump wants to fire Erika McEntarfer, head of the Office of Labor Statistics. It had previously become known that the US labor market had shown clear signs of weakness.
02.08.2025, 01:20
SDA
"I have instructed my team to fire this Biden political nominee immediately," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. She should be replaced by someone who is "much more competent and qualified".
The Department of Labor revised the number of new jobs for May and June downwards by a total of 258,000. Subsequent corrections to the figures are common, but this time the extent was not. Economists also explain the disappointing labor market data with the effects of the US government's aggressive tariff policy.
Trump's argument for the revision
Trump does not want to see it that way - on the contrary. The economy is booming under him, he claimed. He spoke of a conspiracy against him and of falsified figures.
When announcing McEntarfer's dismissal, Trump also repeated his call for US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to be fired. He should be "sent into retirement", Trump wrote.
The US President has been calling for a lower key interest rate for months in order to stimulate the economy in the United States. For Powell, however, other arguments prevailed: In view of existing inflation risks as a result of Trump's tariff policy, he is relying on a prudent monetary policy and is hesitant to cut interest rates. Because Trump has so far not gotten what he wants, he has repeatedly attacked Powell sharply in recent months and threatened to fire him several times. However, the legal hurdles for such a move are high.
