The data that caused President Donald Trump to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because he did not like the July employment report, calling it "rigged," is being taken as serious evidence by Federal Reserve officials of a slowing economy and as a justification for the interest rate cuts Trump wants.

US President Donald Trump has picked an economist at a conservative think tank to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), after firing its previous commissioner last week following weaker-than-expected jobs data.

President Trump plans to tap an economist from the conservative Heritage Foundation to oversee the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He fired the previous leader after a disappointing jobs report.