The US economy wasn’t as hot as it seemed between early this year and early 2023, according to revised figures released by the feds.
The nation’s labor market likely created 818,000 fewer jobs during the 12 months ended in March — the largest preliminary downward revision to US payroll figures since 2009, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday.
That means that the reported job growth during that period — 2.9 million non-farm payroll positions amounting to 242,000 jobs per month — was likely around 30% less, or 174,000 jobs per month, according to new data gathered from state unemployment tax records.
The massive markdown — short of the 1 million downward revision some economists had feared, but well beyond more optimistic forecasts of 300,000 — fuels concerns that the Federal Reserve has waited too long to start cutting interest rates.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to give more hints about the central bank’s rate cut plans on Friday in a hotly anticipated speech in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Former President Donald Trump reacted to the downward revision on his Truth Social account on Wednesday, calling it a “massive scandal.”
Earlier this month, a weak July jobs report ignited concerns that the nation’s labor market isn’t as healthy as economists thought.
The unemployment rate, meanwhile, has risen four months straight.
Wednesday’s report is part of a yearly process in which the Labor Department updates its monthly employer surveys using more comprehensive data from state unemployment tax records.
The update is only preliminary and subject to a final revision in February.
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