Experts and opposition politicians have expressed alarm that the 'credibility' of US economic data is at risk after Donald Trump ordered the firing of a federal government official in charge of labour statistics. The US president claimed without evidence that Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of labour statistics, had 'rigged' job numbers 'in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad', following data showing jobs growth stalled this summer.
Bill Beach, a former Heritage Foundation economist appointed by Trump in 2018 to oversee labour statistics, denounced the move as 'totally groundless'. He said the firing was 'dangerous' and risked undermining public trust in economic data.
Michael Madowitz, principal economist at the Roosevelt Institute's Roosevelt Forward, warned that 'politicizing economic statistics is a self-defeating act'. He added: 'Credibility is far easier to lose than rebuild, and the credibility of America's economic data is the foundation on which we've built the strongest economy in the world.'
Senate Democrat Ron Wyden accused Trump of being 'soft, weak and afraid to own up to the reality of the damage his chaos is inflicting on our economy'. The firing came amid global market turmoil triggered by Trump's latest tariff announcement, which left more than 60 countries scrambling to secure trade deals.
