President Trump fired the top Bureau of Labor Statistics official after the government published new data showing that U.S. hiring slowed sharply this summer. Trump said BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer would be “replaced with someone much more competent and qualified,

The data come after economists have expressed concern that the Trump Administration’s flip-flopping tariff policies and sweeping layoffs at federal agencies could slow economic growth. Some Democratic lawmakers slammed the Administration upon the release of the Labor Department’s report.