The Wharton School apparently does not teach the axiom, Don’t shoot the messenger.

After the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Aug. 1 announced that the economy created only 73,000 jobs in July and that the agency was revising downward its job growth estimates for May and June by a total of 258,000, President Trump fired the bureau’s commissioner, Erika McEntarfer.

Trump charged in a social media post that the bureau’s statistics “were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”

Several former leaders of the bureau criticized the move, with one past commissioner, William Beach, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, saying the president is “making a claim that is just not possible” and that the firing “sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the bureau.”

In its announcement, the bureau acknowledged that the “revisions for May and June were larger than normal” and noted that “Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.”

The unemployment rate in July was 4.2 percent, up a tenth of a point from June.

Trump was presumably more pleased with the July 30 report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis that calculated growth in the second quarter to be 3 percent. In Q1, the economy contracted by 0.5 percent.

“Compared to the first quarter, the upturn in real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected a downturn in imports and an acceleration in consumer spending that were partly offset by a downturn in investment,” the bureau stated.

Inflation, meanwhile, also increased, with June’s consumer price index (CPI) showing a 0.3 percent rise in prices from May and a 2.7 percent jump from June of last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The year-over-year rate was up from 2.4 percent in May.

With the economy showing solid growth and inflation still elevated, the Federal Reserve again decided against an interest rate cut at its July 29-30 meeting.

While stating that, “Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated,” the central bank kept the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25 to 4.5 percent, where it has been since December 2024. Two members of the Federal Open Market Committee, both of whom were appointed by Trump during his first term, Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, dissented, arguing that the Fed should have reduced rates by 0.25 points.

Waller said that “the wait-and-see approach is overly cautious and, in my opinion, does not properly balance the risks to the outlook and could lead to policy falling behind the curve,” while Bowman downplayed data showing inflation above the Fed’s 2 percent target: “With tariff-related price increases likely representing a one-time effect, it is appropriate to look through temporarily elevated inflation readings.”

Tariffs largely remain an area of uncertainty. The United States and the European Union announced a preliminary trade deal on July 27 that would set tariffs at 15 percent, though Trump later threatened to push them to 35 percent if Europe does not fulfill its commitments to invest $600 billion in the United States.

On July 31, Trump issued an order imposing “reciprocal” tariffs on many countries on Aug. 7. Reciprocal tariffs were originally announced on April 2 and have been postponed several times since then. By CNBC’s count, the United States has reached agreement on eight trade deals, including the one with the E.U., during the past four months.

As for America’s two biggest trading partners (not including the multi-nation E.U.), Trump extended the deadline to complete a trade deal with Mexico by 90 days, but he has not granted Canada a similar extension, leaving them subject to steep levies at the end of the first week of August.

While the overall economy has shown resilience, certain sectors appear to be feeling the brunt of tariffs. Multiple respondents to the Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Managers Index survey pointed to increases in the cost of raw materials and uncertainty related to exactly when, where and how tariffs will be implemented.

“These tariff wars are beginning to wear us out,” a representative of the apparel, leather and allied products sector said, for example. “It’s been very difficult to forecast what we will pay in duties and calculate any cost savings we’ve had this year. Also, tariffs have disrupted our customs import bond. There is zero clarity about the future, and it’s been a difficult few months trying to figure out where everything is going to land and the impact on our business. So far, tremendous and unexpected costs have been incurred.”

The index declined during the month and has been at levels indicating contraction in the manufacturing sector for the past five months and 10 of the past 12 months.

Consumer confidence increased slightly in July, according to The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, although the group’s senior economist noted that the index “remains below last year’s heady levels.”

“Consumers’ write-in responses showed that tariffs remained top of mind and were mostly associated with concerns that they would lead to higher prices,” the senior economist said. “In addition, references to high prices and inflation rose in July.”

The Index of Consumer Sentiment from the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers also inched up in July, but it was still 7 percent below the July 2024 level.

“Although recent trends show sentiment moving in a favorable direction, sentiment remains broadly negative,” the surveys’ director said. “Consumers are hardly optimistic about the trajectory of the economy, even as their worries have softened since April 2025.”

Housing starts increased by 4.6 percent from May to June, but were largely unchanged from a year earlier, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Existing home sales dipped by 2.7 percent from May to June, the National Association of Realtors reported.

“Home construction continues to lag population growth,” the association’s chief economist said. “This is holding back first-time home buyers from entering the market. More supply is needed to increase the share of first-time homebuyers in the coming years, even though some markets appear to have a temporary oversupply at the moment.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 44,193.12 on Aug. 6, up 1.6 percent since Trump was sworn into office on Jan. 20. The S&P 500 Index ended the day at 6,345.06, marking a 5.8 percent increase since the inauguration.

The dollar on Aug. 6 was trading at 0.86 euros, 0.75 pounds, 147.5 yen and 7.18 yuan.