August 4, 2025
The National News Desk recently published an article featuring Jay Zagorsky, Clinical Assocaite Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law, discussing President Trump’s claim that the latest U.S. jobs report was “rigged” and his firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.
The July report showed only 73,000 new jobs, with large downward revisions to May and June. Trump and White House adviser Kevin Hassett pointed to these revisions as evidence of bias but offered no proof. Economists and former BLS officials dismissed the accusations, calling the bureau apolitical and the firing “groundless.” They emphasized that revisions are common, especially when economic growth slows, and that the BLS has safeguards to prevent political influence.
“And let me just say clearly that I have found the Bureau of Labor Statistics to be as apolitical an organization as I’ve ever experienced. Their whole goal was to get the data right. They were not pushing left-wing or right-wing agendas. They were not pushing Democratic parties or Republican parties,” Zagorsky adds.
Analysts also noted that the labor market is cooling, tariff uncertainty is hurting business confidence, and public trust in government statistics could be at risk.
