WASHINGTON (AP) – Agents who edit closely monitored monthly employment reports usually struggle with ambiguity, but on Friday, the current owner of the job is I was fired loudly. President of the United States.
Longtime government employee Erica Mantelfer had the brunt of President Donald Trump’s misfortune Friday Employment Reportwhich showed that employment was slower in July and far fewer previously estimated in May and June. He denounced her without evidence to manipulate the number of jobs, pointing out that she was the appointee of President Joe Biden.
McEntarfer, a longtime government worker who served as BLS head for a year and a half, did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Associated Press. However, her predecessor oversaw employment agencies, former colleagues and peers, denounced the fire and warned of its impact, and Mentarfer said her role was apolitical.
Here’s what you need to know about Erika McEntarfer:
McEntarfer has a strong background in economics
Research focusing on job losses, retirements, workers’ mobility and wage stiffness previously worked in non-political roles at the Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Research, the Department of Treasury’s Tax Policy Office, and the White House Economic Advisors Council.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Bird College and a doctorate in economics from Virginia Tech and State University.
She was confirmed as BLS head in a bipartisan vote
McEntarfer was appointed to serve as BLS head in 2023, and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions recommended that her appointment go to the full Senate for the vote.
She was confirmed as BLS Commissioner in January 2024 in a bipartisan 86-8 Senate vote. Among Republican senators who voted to confirm her, Sen was included at the time. He is now Trump’s vice president and then vice president of Ohio. Florida’s Marco Rubio is currently Trump’s Secretary of State.
Before her confirmation hearing, a group called BLS Friends, a member of the Statistics Association, and a qualified economist, consisting of former commissioners who served in both Democrat and Republican administrations, said that McEntarfer’s background made her the best choice for her job.
“With all the new BLS commissioners summarizing this, many reasons to quickly confirm Dr. McEntarfer, as well as the entire statistical system, have experienced periods of intense and significant changes, and Dr. Mcentarfer’s extensive research and statistical experience prepares BLS to be a strong leader who needs to address these challenges.
Her ex-mates and colleagues accused her of firing
William Beach, who was appointed BLS commissioner by Trump in 2019 and served during President Joe Biden’s administration until 2023, called Mantelfer’s firing “baseless” and called it “sets dangerous precedents and undermines the bureau’s statistical mission” on the X-Post.
Sarah J. Grin, a former Labor Bureau chief economist who received a regular briefing from McEntarfer about the BLS findings, said she was generous in the time to explain what conclusions McEntarfer will reach or cannot reach from the data.
If the data doesn’t support what the management officials are saying, Mentarfer would say so, Glynn said. She also never assessed the weight of how the administration should present or interpret the data, Glynn said — she would simply answer questions about the data.
“She had a wise reputation as someone who was concerned about the accuracy of the data and as someone who puts a political spin on her work,” Glynn said.
Heather Boohee, a senior researcher at Harvard University, served as Mantelfer on the White House Economic Advisors Council, and said Mantelfer would not talk about politics at the workplace.
“She focuses on the best analysis and best approach to her field every day, not political. That’s what I saw from her time. She is generally brilliant and respected among labor economists,” Boohee said. “She wasn’t in my office to talk about politics or anything political meaning. She was definitely not involved in that side of things.”
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Olson reported from New York. Associated Press writer Christopher Al Gerber from Washington contributed to the report.
