Discovered suddenly by Trump, the former head of work statistics warns that the US risks reaching the situation of Argentina or Greece
The US President Donald Trump speaks in front of graphics with data on the income of American households, in the Oval Office, on August 7, 2025, in Washington, DC. Photo: Win McNamee / Getty Images / Profimedia
Former commissioner of the US Labor Statistics Office (BLS), Erika Mcentarfer, said, in his first public position after his abrupt dismissal by President Donald Trump, that the dismissal of the head of the Government in Labor is a “dangerous step” that has serious economic consequences, informs Reuters on Wednesday.
Trump fired Mcentarfer, named by former President Joe Biden, on August 1, a few hours after BLS reported a much weaker job increase than he was expected for July and published a historical revision on employment for May and June.
By announcing its dismissal, Trump has accused Mcentarfer, without providing evidence, of manipulating the employment data for political purposes.
“The dismissal of the chief statistician is a dangerous step … It has serious economic consequences,” said Dr. Erika Mcentarfer on Tuesday, during an event organized at Bard College in New York, according to reports in the US press.
“The list of countries that followed this path is not a good one: Argentina, Greece, Turkey. The loss of economic statistics that resulted has led to the aggravation of economic crises, to a higher inflation and higher loan costs,” said Mcentarfer. “If we follow a similar way, all Americans will suffer the consequences,” she warned.
Trump named Ej Antoni, the chief economist at the Conservative Think Tank The Heritage Foundation, to replace it on Mcentarfer.
Last week, the BLS data showed that the US economy has probably created with 911,000 jobs less in the 12 months until March than previously estimated.
Like all government agencies, BLS was severely affected by mass redundancies, voluntary resignations, anticipated retirement and freezing from the Trump administration, part of an unprecedented campaign of the White House drastically reducing the size of the Government.
BLS, whose staff is estimated to have been reduced by about 15%, suspended data collection for certain parts of the consumption index basket in some areas of the country.
