President Trump claimed on Sunday that the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) had been exaggerating job figures to reach an “all-time high” just before the US presidential election, and this comes shortly after he announced her dismissal.
“The head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics did the same thing just before the Presidential Election, by raising the job numbers to an unprecedented level,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account Sunday afternoon.
“I then won the Election, anyway, and she readjusted the numbers downward, calling it a mistake, of almost one million jobs.”
In his message, the President contended that the “miscalculations” of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer were the most substantial in over fifty years.
“A SCAM!” Trump continued.
“She did it again, with another massive “correction,” and got FIRED! She had the biggest miscalculations in over 50 years.”
This statement comes a few days after Trump criticized the Bureau of Labor Statistics and announced his intention to dismiss McEntarfer. This followed a report showing that the US economy added fewer jobs in July than anticipated, alongside substantial downward adjustments in the previous two months, indicating that the economy and labor market may not be as strong as earlier suggested.
Trump similarly accused McEntarfer of falsifying job numbers prior to the US presidential election.
“I was just informed that the ‘Jobs Numbers’ for our country are being manipulated by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, who allegedly inflated the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and enhance Kamala’s chances of winning,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday.
Earlier on Sunday, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett supported Trump’s decision to dismiss McEntarfer, pointing to an alleged “partisan pattern” in the reporting of US job figures.
The BLS reported on Friday that 74,000 jobs were added in July, well below the 110,000 estimate of economists polled by LSEG. The report also revised job growth in May and June downward.
May’s gains were pared back by 125,000 to just 19,000 jobs created, while the June figures were revised down by 133,000 to just 14,000 jobs added that month.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
