In a fit of rage, President Donald Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in August of 2025 after a weaker-than-expected jobs report the month before.
The BLS employment data from July 2025 showed U.S. employers created just 73,000 jobs, 258,000 fewer positions than the previous two months and an ominous sign the U.S. economy was deteriorating.
An enraged president exploded, claiming the data was “rigged.”
He accused Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of manipulating and “faking” the data to make him look bad, without offering any proof.
Fast-forward almost a year, and the latest BLS report for May shows American businesses created just 57,000 jobs.
While the unemployment rate did drop to 4.2 percent, experts say that’s because many Americans stopped looking for work. In fact, according to the BLS, the labor participation rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 61.5 percent, the lowest level since March of 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic
But the depressing job numbers are probably the least of Trump’s worries at this point. That’s because a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research finds McEntarfer’s termination cost the U.S. economy $20 billion.
The new analysis links the huge loss to a ‘sharp increase’ in uncertainty about Trump’s economic policies after McEntee’s firing, which in turn triggered a drop in economic activity, particularly in U.S. monetary investment.
Businesses don’t like making decisions about where and how to invest their money without a clear understanding of economic conditions. And the fact that there’s still no permanent replacement for McEntarfer is furthering the instability and uncertainty.
Social media erupted in a frenzy over the latest unemployment numbers, agreeing with recent analyses that there’s a lack of trust in any data coming out of the Trump administration.
“No one can trust these numbers concocted by a blatantly inept and authoritarian fascist regime until independently verified by a credible source,” a Threads user pointed out.
Another responding to a post that claimed “disappointing, but still healthy,”
“Things are bad, dude. Quit trying to put lipstick on a pig. Also, stop believing anything that comes out of this administration.”
This Threads user sarcastically noted, “But Donald made money so maga is good with it.”
And those blurry economic conditions leading to a decrease in U.S. investment? They’re even worse for Black Americans during Trump’s second term and becoming increasingly bleaker.
The unemployment rate for African-Americans fell last month to 6.6 percent, the BLS reported, compared to a 4.3 percent national average, but millions of Black people remain unemployed and looking for work.
While 6.6 percent is an improvement over a high of 7.5 percent for the Black population earlier this year, it’s still significantly higher than for other groups. Unemployment numbers for White and Asian workers are almost half that at 3.8 percent.
In some states, Black unemployment rates are three times that of White unemployment rates, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
As economic uncertainty continues under the Trump administration, more and more businesses are tightening hiring, as seen by last month’s job numbers, and that’s impacting Black Americans more than any other group.
Even at the same education levels, studies have shown Black job seekers face more hiring discrimination, and their professional networks don’t help as much because they’re often underrepresented within those networks.
The Washington Post is reporting the unemployment gap between white and Black Americans is widening because of federal job cuts and a concerted campaign by Trump to eliminate corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
“The Trump Administration has led to historic levels of Black unemployment. And he don’t give a damn,” a social media poster stated.
Threads user EM didn’t hold back. “Welcome to Trump’s America. Any successful black person is a DEI hire according to Trump, Hegseth, and MAGA. No Black person has the right to live a successful life.”
