Who Is Erika Mcentarfer Fired By Donald Trump As Head Of Labor Statistics Department? Why Was She Asked To Step Down?

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US President Donald Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), on August 1.

"We need people we can trust," President Trump said after he told officials to fire Erika McEntarfer, hours after a report showed US job growth cooled sharply over the last three months.

Who is Erika McEntarfer?

Erika McEntarfer was a longtime US government employee who bore the brunt of President Trump's unhappiness with Friday's jobs report. She had served as BLS head for a year and a half.

Erika McEntarfer's career: McEntarfer's research focuses on job loss, retirement, worker mobility, and wage rigidity. She previously worked at the Census Bureau's Center for Economic Studies, the Treasury Department's Office of Tax Policy and the White House Council of Economic Advisers in a nonpolitical role.

McEntarfer was nominated in 2023 to serve as BLS head, and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions recommended that her nomination go to the full Senate for a vote, the Associated Press reported. She was confirmed as BLS commissioner in January 2024 on a bipartisan 86-8 Senate vote.

Erika McEntarfer's education: McEntarfer holds a bachelor's degree in Social Science from Bard College and a doctoral degree in economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Why was Erika McEntarfer dismissed?

President Trump accused her of manipulating job data for political purposes.

On Friday morning, the BLS reported that the US economy added just 73,000 jobs in July, well below estimates. It also said it had revised the May and June numbers, and they turned out to be lower than previously announced by more than 200,000 jobs.

Trump reacted to the report, saying,“In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”

He said the "jobs numbers" were produced by a "Biden Appointee", Dr Erika McEntarfer. He also accused her of faking "the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala's chances of Victory."

"This is the same Bureau of Labor Statistics that overstated the Jobs Growth in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 and, then again, right before the 2024 Presidential Election, in August and September, by 112,000," he said.

Ordering his team to fire "this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said, "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified."

Trump said,“Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes.”

William Beach, who was appointed BLS commissioner in 2019 by Trump and served until 2023 during President Joe Biden's administration, called McEntarfer's firing“groundless” and said in an X post that it“sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau.”

(With inputs from Associated Press)

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