White House officials defend firing of labour data commissioner

White House economic advisers on Aug 3 defended President Donald Trump's firing of the head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), pushing back against criticism that Mr Trump's action could undermine confidence in official US economic data.

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WASHINGTON -

Later on Aug 3, Mr Trump again criticised BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer, without providing evidence of wrongdoing, and said he would name a new BLS commissioner in the next three or four days.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CBS that Mr Trump had "real concerns" about the data, while Mr Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said the President "is right to call for new leadership".

Mr Hassett said on Fox News the main concern was Aug 1's BLS report of net downward revisions showing 258,000 fewer jobs had been created in May and June than previously reported.

Mr Trump accused Ms McEntarfer of faking the jobs numbers, without providing any evidence of data manipulation.

The bureau compiles the closely watched employment report as well as consumer and producer price data.

The BLS gave no reason for the revised data, but noted that "monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors".

Ms McEntarfer responded to her abrupt dismissal on Aug 1 in a post on social media platform Bluesky, saying it was "the honour of her life" to serve as BLS commissioner and praising the civil servants who work there.