“In contrast with the president’s assertion of bustling job creation,” said Stettner, “Americans can’t get off of unemployment benefits in an economy that has stopped adding jobs outside of healthcare.”

The government figures were released a day after private data showed that employment in the U.S. services sector fell last month as prices rose. Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturing activity contracted in July at the fastest pace in nine months, even as President Donald Trump claimed his erratic tariff regime would revive the sector.

“Private data confirms the government numbers, and firing the head of BLS can’t change that,” said Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), referring to Trump’s decision to terminate Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in the wake of last week’s terrible U.S. jobs report—calling into question the reliability of future federal data.