The U.S. economy added nearly a million fewer jobs than previously reported for the year ending in March, according to preliminary benchmark revisions released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The sharp downgrade underscores concerns about the labor market's resilience and adds new pressure on policymakers to support growth.
The BLS said nonfarm payrolls were revised down by 911,000, equal to about 0.6% of the total workforce. The change is on the high end of Wall Street forecasts and marks the largest adjustment since records began in 2002. If finalized in February 2026, the revision would reduce average monthly job growth during the period to just over 70,000, down from the initially reported 146,500.
"The BLS' preliminary benchmark revisions to nonfarm payrolls show a much weaker labor market over most of 2024 and early 2025 than previously estimated," said Oren Klachkin, market economist at Nationwide Financial. "Importantly, the slower job creation implies income growth was also on a softer footing even prior to the recent rise in policy uncertainty and economic slowdown we've seen since the spring."
The revision points to broad-based weakness across industries. Leisure and hospitality saw the largest cut at 176,000 jobs, followed by professional and business services (-158,000) and retail trade (-126,200). Government payrolls were adjusted lower by 31,000, while transportation, warehousing, and utilities registered modest upward revisions.
The recalculation relies on data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which captures nearly all employers through unemployment insurance tax records. Unlike the monthly reports that use surveys, the annual benchmark offers a more comprehensive "do-over" of the figures.
The timing of the revision adds to political sensitivity. Much of the weaker job performance predates President Donald Trump's return to office, but the slowdown has continued. Trump has repeatedly criticized the BLS, firing former commissioner Erika McEntarfer after July's weak payroll report and nominating Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni as her replacement.
Tuesday's release follows a summer of sluggish hiring. From June through August, payroll growth averaged just 29,000 per month, well below the level needed to hold the unemployment rate steady. The weakness has fueled calls for the Federal Reserve to resume rate cuts to stabilize growth.
The BLS said the preliminary figures will undergo further adjustment before the final benchmark revision in February. Last year's preliminary revision was later softened from 818,000 to 598,000 jobs, though still one of the steepest downward shifts since the 2008-09 financial crisis.
