President Donald Trump has fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics director, accusing her, without evidence, of manipulating job numbers for political reasons following the release of July’s job numbers.Trump claimed on Truth Social that the jobs report, along with adjustments made to May and June figures, were politically motivated to favor Democrats, calling the director a “Biden political appointee.”The U.S. stock market reacted negatively to the July jobs report and a last-minute tariff shakeup by Trump. In July, employers added 73,000 jobs, which was well below expectations. The Labor Department adjusted the May and June numbers, revealing that 258,000 fewer jobs were created than originally estimated. Mark Hamrick from Bankrate.com said, “I think this is essentially, right now, a no-hire, no-fire job market. Employers are cautious about adding to head count. They know that some are going to be absorbing the costs of tariffs.” An inflation report this week showed the highest rates in months, with economists attributing both reports to tariffs.Hamrick said, “I think tariffs are having the impact that many warned they would when we look at the economic data.”White House Economic Council Chair Stephen Miran admitted he “didn’t love” parts of July’s jobs report but added, “That uncertainty is gone. People know what the lay of the land is now both on the trade front and on the tax front, and so, you know, we expect, you know, we expect things to get materially stronger from here now that our policies are starting to start into place.”But not everyone shares that confidence.“No. Not at all,” said Mike Brey, owner of Hobby Works in Maryland, when asked if the White House’s message reassured him. Brey said the uncertainty is especially disruptive because toy retailers like his place orders months in advance.”We’re trying to make buying decisions for this upcoming holiday season without solid, dependable information on what things are going to cost, and those numbers keep changing,” Brey said. “We have several hundred suppliers, and we have huge spreadsheets with what they that are constantly being updated about what they think is going to happen, what is going to happen, and what’s going to happen if this, if this tariff is in place, then we’re going to do this. If this tariff is in place, we’re going to do that. Or we might not do anything. Or we might do it sooner. It’s just chaos.”A number of trade deals have been announced this week, but many remain unsigned. Just hours before his original tariff deadline, Trump signed an executive order moving the deadline to Aug. 7. The order imposes new tariff rates ranging from 10 to 41 percent on dozens of countries, as Trump looks to rebalance global trade.Earlier this week, Kathy Dolby, owner of Pacers Running, said had some relief that the U.S. announced a trade deal with Vietnam, who supplies her with most of her shoes.”It’s great to have some certainty, even if it is, we went from 10 to 20%,” Dolby said. “What’s tomorrow going to bring? We? I think we all understand that a lot of this is fluid.”Dolby said she’s seen price increases on some of her products because of tariffs.Companies like Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Ford, Best Buy, Adidas, Nike, Mattel, Shein, Temu and Stanley Black & Decker have announced price hikes due to U.S. tariffs.See below for more about how tariffs could impact you.

WASHINGTON —President Donald Trump has fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics director, accusing her, without evidence, of manipulating job numbers for political reasons following the release of July’s job numbers.

Trump claimed on Truth Social that the jobs report, along with adjustments made to May and June figures, were politically motivated to favor Democrats, calling the director a “Biden political appointee.”

The U.S. stock market reacted negatively to the July jobs report and a last-minute tariff shakeup by Trump. In July, employers added 73,000 jobs, which was well below expectations. The Labor Department adjusted the May and June numbers, revealing that 258,000 fewer jobs were created than originally estimated.

Mark Hamrick from Bankrate.com said, “I think this is essentially, right now, a no-hire, no-fire job market. Employers are cautious about adding to head count. They know that some are going to be absorbing the costs of tariffs.”

An inflation report this week showed the highest rates in months, with economists attributing both reports to tariffs.

Hamrick said, “I think tariffs are having the impact that many warned they would when we look at the economic data.”

White House Economic Council Chair Stephen Miran admitted he “didn’t love” parts of July’s jobs report but added, “That uncertainty is gone. People know what the lay of the land is now both on the trade front and on the tax front, and so, you know, we expect, you know, we expect things to get materially stronger from here now that our policies are starting to start into place.”

But not everyone shares that confidence.

“No. Not at all,” said Mike Brey, owner of Hobby Works in Maryland, when asked if the White House’s message reassured him. Brey said the uncertainty is especially disruptive because toy retailers like his place orders months in advance.

“We’re trying to make buying decisions for this upcoming holiday season without solid, dependable information on what things are going to cost, and those numbers keep changing,” Brey said. “We have several hundred suppliers, and we have huge spreadsheets with what they [think] that are constantly being updated about what they think is going to happen, what is going to happen, and what’s going to happen if this, if this tariff is in place, then we’re going to do this. If this tariff is in place, we’re going to do that. Or we might not do anything. Or we might do it sooner. It’s just chaos.”

A number of trade deals have been announced this week, but many remain unsigned. Just hours before his original tariff deadline, Trump signed an executive order moving the deadline to Aug. 7. The order imposes new tariff rates ranging from 10 to 41 percent on dozens of countries, as Trump looks to rebalance global trade.

Earlier this week, Kathy Dolby, owner of Pacers Running, said had some relief that the U.S. announced a trade deal with Vietnam, who supplies her with most of her shoes.

“It’s great to have some certainty, even if it is, we went from 10 to 20%,” Dolby said. “What’s tomorrow going to bring? We? I think we all understand that a lot of this is fluid.”

Dolby said she’s seen price increases on some of her products because of tariffs.

Companies like Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Ford, Best Buy, Adidas, Nike, Mattel, Shein, Temu and Stanley Black & Decker have announced price hikes due to U.S. tariffs.

See below for more about how tariffs could impact you.