Last week, the government reported that U.S. employers added only 73,000 jobs in July, falling short of the expected 115,000.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits in the week ending July 26 rose by 38,000 to 1.97 million, reaching the highest level since November 2021.
Weekly unemployment benefit claims are considered an indicator of layoffs in the U.S. and have mostly remained within a historically healthy range of 200,000 to 250,000 since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the economy in the spring of 2020.
The employment report released on Friday incited criticism from Trump, who claimed the data was politically manipulated and ordered the dismissal of Erika McEntarfer, head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which produces the monthly employment figures.
The dismissal was criticized by economists who, along with market investors on Wall Street, have long regarded the employment figures as reliable.
