The president has hailed the world’s “hottest” economy – and found others to blame for any wobbles. When Friday’s jobs report showed a dramatic slowdown in hiring, he fired the head of the agency that published it.

Tariffs putting the squeeze on businesses and consumers while bringing in billions of dollars for the United States government.

It is too soon to know whether the United States is on a similar path. But economists and other experts said that Mr. Trump’s decision on Friday to fire Erika McEntarfer, the Senate-confirmed head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was a troubling step in that direction.