Navarro on jobs report: 'It's either incompetence or political interference'

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Friday slammed the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for a series of reports on job growth he deemed inaccurate.

The longtime Trump adviser said the BLS had an “unsettling pattern” of presenting the public with the wrong information. 

“The BLS doesn't seem to be able to get that jobs number right. This has been going on for over a year,” Navarro said during a Friday appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill.”

“It's either incompetence or political interference, either way ahead, roll today, and that's appropriate, because this simply isn't right,” he told anchor Blake Burman. 

The BLS reported that 73,000 jobs were created last month after correcting May’s report to reflect the creation of 19,000 jobs compared to an initial report of 144,000. The Bureau also corrected the number from June to 14,000 job adds after an initial report of 147,000. 

President Trump on Thursday fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, alleging she inflated job reports for the Biden administration ahead of the 2024 election. He said she “faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory.”

“She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes,” Trump in a Friday Truth Social post. 

Navarro told Burman on Friday that Trump's move was "healthy."

The BLS did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. The bureau often revises jobs report, but the scale of Friday's changes surprised experts.

Navarro, in his Friday interview, said the revisions cost the Fed much needed inflationary cuts, which held rates steady on Wednesday.

“It's is that if we had gotten that data when, when we should have got that data, the Federal Reserve yesterday would have lowered interest rates by at least 50 basis points. So you think so kind of incompetence or political no question about it,” Navarro told Burman. 

“I mean, look, you had three months that were two months that revised significantly downward, one which was lower than expectations. I mean, the Fed, that's a completely different picture. I mean, there was a strong case for a 50 day there's an overwhelming case for a 50 basis point cut,” he added. 

Trump and his allies have pushed Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates to reset the economy for months. The president has threatened to fire Powell who has refused to shift course under pressure. 

“The Economy is BOOMING under “TRUMP” despite a Fed that also plays games, this time with Interest Rates, where they lowered them twice, and substantially, just before the Presidential Election, I assume in the hopes of getting ‘Kamala’ elected – How did that work out?” Trump wrote on Friday.

“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell should also be put 'out to pasture.; Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added. 

Later in the day, he walked back his stance when Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty asked if the Fed chair would remain in place for now during an interview.

“Well, it’s very disruptive if you fire,” he told him. “So, I would say most likely, yeah.”