DemDaily: The Jobs Report: Politicization and Retaliation
September 9, 2025
The federal government's August Jobs Report was released last Friday, providing a sobering reality check on the current state of the economy under Donald Trump.
The report reflected a deteriorating labor market, adding just 22,000 jobs last month -- nearly one-fourth the total number anticipated by economists. Unemployment climbed slightly to 4.3 %, the highest it has been since 2021, marking near-stagnant employment growth.
The numbers also amped up the President's unabashed determination to politicize the critical monthly barometer of the nation's economy.
| The monthly Employment Situation Summary, known as the "Jobs Report," is based on the Current Population Survey of households and the Current Employment Statistics Survey of employers. It estimates the number of people employed and unemployed in the economy and the number of hours they worked in the previous month. The report is released by the Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at 8:30am ET on the first Friday of every month. |
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) produces crucial economic data and regular reports, including statistics on employment and unemployment, inflation, earnings and wages, and job openings and labor turnover.
The Jobs Report is used by investment firms, corporations and investors to gauge the overall health of the economy. The bond markets look at the report for what it might indicate about inflation and interest rates. The currency markets look at the report for signs that might affect the value of the US dollar.
While the numbers are consistently updated and revised after their release, the monthly report is a critical first snapshot of the state of the economy and whether it is working for Americans.
Status
Job growth has slowed since April 2025, with June reporting an actual loss of 13,000 jobs -- the first decline in the job market since the COVID pandemic in 2020.
The July Jobs Report painted a shakier picture of the labor market, with US employers adding just 73,000 payroll positions, well short of the 115,000 expected. Worse, job growth was much weaker in May and June than previously reported -- with a substantial downward revision of 258,000 fewer payroll jobs over the two months.
Economists attribute the economic uncertainty to Trump's erratic actions and trade policies, primarily tariffs on imports; ongoing federal spending cuts and mass firings; the crackdown on immigration, and elevated interest rates.
As tariffs push up prices and consumer spending takes a downturn, employers hold back on hiring or expansion.
On August 1, just hours after the July Jobs Report showed further decline in hiring, an incensed Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, publicly posting -- without presenting any evidence -- that she had “rigged" the numbers "in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”
McEntarfer, a 23-year non-partisan career employee, served as a senior economist to the White House Council of Economic Advisors before being tapped by President Joe Biden in July 2023 to serve as BLS Commissioner. She was confirmed by an 86-8 vote of the Senate on January 11, 2024.
| Although the BLS Commissioner, who oversees a staff of 2,000 people, is a presidential appointee, their four-year term is intentionally staggered so that it does not align with presidential terms. The office is deliberately structured to shield the position from political interference and influence over labor and economic statistics -- which would undermine critical confidence in US numbers and have a potentially disastrous impact on all markets. Since the creation of the position in 1884, no BLS commissioner has ever been fired mid-term. |
The agency’s credibility and the unbiased data it produces rest on professional independence, not political whims.
Under current statute, the BLS Commissioner is not protected from presidential removal. In response to the untested loophole, Democratic Congressman George Whitesides (CA), on September 5, introduced the Statistical Agency Integrity and Independence Act (H.R. 4907), which would impose fixed terms and mandate the commissioner's removal only for cause (inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance). It explicitly bars termination based on a president’s disagreement with the content or timing of official data.
The same removal protections would apply to the heads of other federal statistical agencies, including the Census Bureau, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The legislation now sits with the House Committees on Education and Workforce.
On August 1, the same day Trump fired McEntarfer, he installed Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski as Acting Commissioner, and on August 11, nominated E.J. Antoni, Chief Economist for the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation, to replace McEntarfer as Commissioner.
A Trump loyalist who contributed to GOP manifesto Project 2025, Antoni is considered "woefully underqualified" by economists, with a demonstrated "inability to understand basic economics." His nomination was met with a backlash of bipartisan concern about the potential politicization of the agency.
Last month, NBC reported that Antoni was present outside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and CNN confirmed he had a since-deleted Twitter account that featured election conspiracy theories, sexually degrading and derogatory remarks about women and gay people, and violent threats against Trump critics. A hearing on his nomination has yet to be scheduled.
| "The labor market is going from frozen to cracking. The United States barely added any jobs in the past four months. This is a white-collar and a blue-collar jobs recession." - Navy Federal Credit Union Chief Economist Heather Long |
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Sources: Department of Labor, Investopedia, New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, CNN, Reuters, Gov,info, The Guardian, AP, PBS, Investopedia
