In low numbers that surprised analysts, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that only 73,000 new jobs were created in July, a figure significantly down from the 158,000 seen in March and 323,000 recorded in the final months of last year.
As with previous reporting months, the health care sector saw the greatest employment growth, creating 55,000 new jobs. The next highest category came with special assistance employment, which posted an 18,000 gain for July.
In its Employment Situation Summary, the BLS said, “Employment showed little change in other major industries,” and specifically listed construction as one of the sectors with little growth.
According to numbers put together by the Associated Builders and Contractors, the national construction industry was up by only around 2,000 new jobs in July. Increases were most notable in the nonresidential specialty trade contractors’ sector, and in heavy and civil engineering, seeing 2.8% and 2.7% improvements respectively.
“Industrywide employment is up only 1.2% over the past year,” Anirban Basu, chief economist with ABC, remarked in a statement. Basu said the numbers were typical of a “lackluster pace of growth that historically is seen during and immediately following recessions.”
In the wake of the sluggish job report, President Trump announced that he was firing Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the BLS. Trump accused McEntarfer of purposely posting inaccurate figures and remarked: “We need accurate jobs numbers.”
Trump accused McEntarfer, who was appointed by President Biden, of doctoring the BLS figures for political reasons. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”
In an official statement, the White House said McEntarfer had “completely eroded public trust in the government agency charged with disseminating key data used by policymakers and businesses to make consequential decisions.”
Besides the low July numbers, Trump also took issue with a BLS announcement revising downward by some 258,000 jobs the May and June employment reports.
For her part, McEntarfer released a posting remarking that “it has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of the BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy. It is vital and important work, and I thank them for their service to this nation.”
The McEntarfer firing has sparked mostly negative responses, with the Wall Street Journal saying “the President’s move throws the quality of America’s statistical apparatus into question.”
The Financial Times said Trump’s actions “marked an unprecedented move by a president to intervene in the functioning of an agency that produces reports on the labor market and inflation, which underpin the pricing of trillions of dollars in assets globally.”
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, however, praised Trump’s move, arguing in a statement that “our jobs numbers must be fair, accurate, and never manipulated for political purposes.”
August 4, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Bureau of Labor Statistics
