U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs last month and Labor Department revisions showed that hiring was much weaker than previously reported in May and June. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%.

July’s report ​suggests that pockets of weakness in the labor market are starting to take hold. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2%.

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

President Donald Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday after a new jobs report showed a major slowdown of hiring in recent months. In a social media post, Trump volleyed sharp criticism and baseless accusations at Erika McEntarfer, a Biden appointee who was confirmed by the Senate in 2024.

Jobs growth was slower than expected as the unemployment rate rose in July, leading to the firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.