Weak US Jobs Numbers
Slow Growth
The US economy added only 22,000 jobs in August, far below economists expectations and potentially signaling a sharp slowdown in the labor market.
Context
President Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer last month, following July's weak jobs report, and accused her of manipulating employment data. July's job report saw only 73,000 jobs added.
Trump nominated EJ Antoni – the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation – as her replacement. Antoni has written opinion pieces critical of the BLS and even suggested suspending the monthly employment report, though he still awaits confirmation.
Slow Growth
The BLS reported Friday that employers added just 22,000 positions in August, significantly missing the 75,000 jobs that analysts had predicted.
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