Read more › Two days after President Trump fired the top labor official in charge of compiling statistics on employment, Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, insisted the administration was not shooting the messenger because of a dour jobs report.

Without evidence, Trump called the data "rigged" and implied that BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer manipulated the numbers "for political purposes."

Federal government employment fell again in July, with a loss of 12,000 jobs, according to the report. The sector has lost 84,000 jobs since the start of the year. The report notes that employees who are on paid leave or are receiving ongoing severance pay are considered employed, and so are not included in this tally.