Data on jobs were ‘rigged,’ Trump claims

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump on Friday said he believed the most recent job figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics were "rigged" and politically motivated.

"In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad — Just like when they had three great days around the 2024 Presidential Election," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He added, "the figures were 'taken away' on November 15, 2024, right after the Election, when the Jobs Numbers were massively revised DOWNWARD, making a correction of over 818,000 Jobs — A TOTAL SCAM."

Earlier, Trump said that he has ordered the dismissal of the expert in charge of the Labor Department's statistics division after the agency's data showed that job growth fell short of expectations.

Trump accused Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of labor statistics, of being a political appointee of former President Joe Biden who "faked" the numbers.

The Labor Department on Friday reported that the US economy added 73,000 jobs in July, significantly less than expectations of 106,000. It further downgraded estimates for the past two months, cutting a combined 258,000 estimated jobs.