On Friday, Peter Navarro, a trade adviser at the White House, criticized the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for what he perceived as inaccurate employment growth reports.
The longtime adviser to Trump pointed out a “unsteady pattern” at BLS that he believes misleads the public.
“It seems like BLS can’t get the job numbers right, and this has been the case for over a year,” Navarro remarked during his appearance on News Nation’s “The Hill.”
He suggested that this issue could be due to either incompetence or political influence. “Let’s roll with this today; it’s warranted,” he added.
The BLS stated that 73,000 jobs were created last month, revising its previous report for May, which initially claimed 144,000 jobs were added, now showing just 19,000. The agency also adjusted figures for job growth since June.
President Trump dismissed BLS commissioner Erica Mantelfer on Thursday, accusing her of inflating job reports to benefit the Biden administration ahead of the 2024 election. He suggested she would “attempt to fake the job numbers to boost Kamala’s chances of winning.”
“She will be replaced by someone more qualified. Important roles like this must be impartial and accurate, not manipulated for political gain,” Trump stated in a recent post.
In his conversation with Berman on Friday, Navarro claimed that Trump’s actions are in line with good health.
The BLS hasn’t offered immediate comments to The Hill’s inquiry. While the bureau frequently corrects employment data, the scale of Friday’s revisions surprised many in the field.
Navarro expressed that the significant adjustments had implications on the Federal Reserve’s ability to manage inflation and stabilize interest rates earlier in the week.
If more accurate data had been available, he believed the Federal Reserve would have reduced rates by at least 50 basis points the previous day. “I don’t see it as mere incompetence,” he said on-air.
Referring to the three-month revisions, Navarro noted they were unexpectedly low. “It shifted the Fed’s perspective entirely, making a strong case for a significant cut,” he added.
Trump and his supporters have long urged Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates to help the economy, even threatening to dismiss Powell for his unwillingness to change course under pressure.
“The economy is thriving under ‘Trump,’ but interest rates have dropped twice, especially with the upcoming election around the corner,” Trump wrote.
“Jerome ‘too late’ Powell should be sent packing,” he concluded.
Later that day, during an interview with Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty, Trump revised his earlier comments about the Fed chair’s future. “Well, if you fire him, it could be quite damaging,” he said. “So, it’s likely to stay as is.”
