Trump contorts timeline of jobs report revisions in effort to justify firing BLS chief

President Donald Trump has tried to warrant firing erstwhile Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer by claiming that her agency's golden modular employment reports were "rigged" successful bid to harm him politically.

Trump has provided nary grounds to enactment his allegation. Nonetheless, helium has repeatedly claimed that the BLS issued "phony" strong-looking jobs numbers during the past twelvemonth of the Biden administration, lone to revise them sharply downward close aft the 2024 statesmanlike election.

"Just days earlier the [Nov. 5 presidential] election, they enactment retired numbers that it was similar the state was connected fire," Trump claimed Tuesday greeting connected CNBC's "Squawk Box."

"And then they did a revision astir 2 weeks later, and the revision was down by astir 900,000 jobs," helium alleged.

When a big pushed back, Trump doubled down, claiming "the numbers were rigged."

"They announced these phenomenal numbers the 2 days earlier the predetermination and a small spot earlier that, ever these large numbers ... But aft I won the election, past they announced a downward number, successful different words, to bring it backmost to reality," Trump said.

But Trump's relationship of however the jobs study revisions were issued successful 2024 is wrong. And the existent timeline undermines his claims.

It's existent that the BLS issued a ample revision to its jobs tally past year: The bureau revealed that the U.S. system added 818,000 less jobs than primitively reported for the twelvemonth ended March 2024.

But that revision did not travel aft the election, arsenic Trump suggested Tuesday morning. Rather, it was issued successful August 2024 — much than 2 months earlier the election, and aft then-Vice President Kamala Harris had taken the reins arsenic the Democratic nominee.

Trump pounced connected the fig astatine the time. "New Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the Administration PADDED THE NUMBERS with an other 818,000 Jobs that DO NOT EXIST, AND NEVER DID," helium claimed successful an Aug. 21 station connected Truth Social.

The fig came successful the BLS' preliminary annual benchmark revision, erstwhile its employment estimates derived from surveys are calibrated against authorities unemployment security taxation records.

The last benchmark released successful February, months aft the election, revised hiring down by 598,000 — little than the preliminary fig from August.

Trump is besides incorrect to assertion that the BLS issued "phenomenal numbers" conscionable earlier the 2024 election.

In fact, the last jobs study earlier the predetermination revealed a sharp slowdown successful October hiring, aft a surge the erstwhile month.

That Nov. 1 study — little than a week earlier Election Day — showed conscionable 12,000 workers had been added to U.S. nonfarm payrolls successful October.

At the time, it was the smallest monthly occupation summation successful astir 4 years, and it fell good beneath experts' already-low expectations.

As soon arsenic the Nov. 1 study was released, it was instantly weaponized for governmental purposes — by Trump, who utilized the information to bash Harris.

"Today's jobs study is simply a large embarrassment for our Nation. Kamala has lied for years astir their pathetic occupation growth, which has ne'er been real," Trump wrote connected Truth Social Nov. 1. "America is simply a Nation successful Decline due to the fact that Sleepy Joe, and Lyin' Kamala, didn't bash their job."

The BLS would aboriginal revise that anemic jobs fig upward — but not until aft Trump had won the election.

Moreover, the crisp diminution successful October's archetypal study is present understood to person been driven by respective factors extracurricular of anyone's control.

Major labour strikes astatine Boeing and astatine U.S. ports had the short-term effect of removing thousands of workers from payrolls successful October.

Hurricanes successful the Southeast besides impacted that archetypal study by closing roads and businesses, making it much hard to cod close data.

The White House did not respond to CNBC's petition for remark oregon further mentation of Trump's remarks.

A Labor Department official, successful comments provided by the White House, criticized McEntarfer's leadership, saying that she waited excessively agelong to pass the section astir data-collection challenges astatine the BLS.

But these are not the critiques Trump has made himself.

Instead, Trump announced McEntarfer's firing successful a Friday day societal media station that accused her of having "faked the Jobs Numbers earlier the Election to effort and boost Kamala's chances of Victory."

CNBC has reached retired to McEntarfer for comment.

"I person directed my Team to occurrence this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump wrote. "Important numbers similar this indispensable beryllium just and accurate, they can't beryllium manipulated for governmental purposes."

The station came hours aft the archetypal jobs study for the period of July showed weaker-than-expected growth.

The BLS successful that study besides issued 2 revisions to archetypal reports from erstwhile months. Both of them revised the jobs numbers sharply downward, shaving a combined full of 258,000 jobs disconnected the year's tally.

The downward revisions and the missed expectations for July spurred a sharp decline successful fiscal markets. By Friday's close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen much than 500 points.

The determination to occurrence McEntarfer drew wide disapproval implicit fears that authorities employment data, which is relied upon to gauge the wellness of the U.S. system and marque large argumentation decisions, volition go politicized and untrustworthy.

Experts besides accidental that adjacent if a BLS commissioner wanted to manipulate monthly jobs study data, it would beryllium intolerable fixed however the information is collected, analyzed and released to the public.

The White House has defended Trump's decision, with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett saying connected NBC News that the occupation revisions "are hard evidence" successful enactment of the president's claims.

Trump said helium plans to denote McEntarfer's successor successful the coming days.