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BLS to issue first jobs report since Trump sacked chief

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday will deliver its first jobs report since President Trump fired its leader in response to disappointing employment data for July.

© The Associated Press

Economists are predicting more weakening in the labor market for August, which could prompt further reprisals and criticism from Trump.

“August’s employment report is likely to confirm that a marked slowdown in labor market conditions is underway,” EY-Parthenon chief economist Gregory Daco wrote in a preview of the report.

Daco expects nonfarm payrolls to increase by just 40,000 in August, following the modest 73,000 jobs that were created in July. He sees the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.3 percent, which would be

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