Without evidence, Trump called the data "rigged" and implied that BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer manipulated the numbers "for political purposes."

President Trump said he directed his team to fire the top Bureau of Labor Statistics official after the bureau issued a weak jobs report on Friday. Trump in a social media post said Erika McEntarfer,

The data come after economists have expressed concern that the Trump Administration’s flip-flopping tariff policies and sweeping layoffs at federal agencies could slow economic growth. Some Democratic lawmakers slammed the Administration upon the release of the Labor Department’s report.