WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has dismissed Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), just hours after the release of weaker-than-expected jobs data that intensified concerns over his tariff policies.

In a post on social media Friday, Trump accused McEntarfer of having “RIGGED” the jobs figures “to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”

The move — unprecedented in modern US politics — drew swift condemnation from lawmakers, economists and former government officials, who warned it risked undermining public trust in official economic data.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Trump “a bad leader” who “shoots the messenger” when confronted with unfavorable statistics.

The BLS report showed that US employers added just 73,000 jobs in July, well below forecasts of 109,000. The agency also revised down employment growth in May and June by a combined 250,000 jobs, reinforcing signs of a slowing labor market amid uncertainty over Trump’s trade tariffs.

McEntarfer, appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2023 and confirmed by the Senate nearly unanimously, described her tenure as “the honour of my life” and defended the agency’s work as “vital and important.” She had worked in government for more than two decades.

Critics accused Trump of politicizing independent data collection. Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said, “Firing the head of a key government agency because you don’t like the numbers they report ... is what happens in authoritarian countries, not democratic ones.”

Friends of BLS, a group including two former commissioners, warned that politicizing economic statistics could “destroy public trust in all official statistics and in government science.”

The Labor Department said Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski would serve as acting commissioner during the search for a replacement.

Trump defended the decision, telling reporters before departing the White House for his New Jersey golf club: “Why should anybody trust numbers? I believe the numbers were phony ... so you know what I did? I fired her.”

The move came as Trump pressed ahead with new tariffs on imports from multiple countries, raising rates on some goods to as high as 50%. Economists say the trade policy shift has unsettled markets and hurt business confidence.

US stock indexes closed sharply lower Friday following the jobs report and McEntarfer’s dismissal. — Agencies