The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the U.S. added 73,000 jobs last month and that the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, up from 4.1% in June. Notably, BLS also issued “larger than normal” revisions to its report on May and June employment growth, saying that employment for May was revised down from 144,000 jobs to 19,000 (a decrease of 125,000 jobs) and employment for June was revised down from 147,000 to 14,000 (a decrease of 133,000 jobs). With these revisions, employment in May and June combined is 258,000 lower than previously reported.
In response to the dismal jobs report, President Trump said that he directed his team to fire the Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer, calling her a “Biden Political Appointee” and accusing her of faking “the Job Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory.” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced in a tweet that she has appointed Deputy BLS Commissioner William Wiatrowski as acting BLS Commissioner, explaining that she “supports the President’s decision to replace Biden’s Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS.”