US Added Nearly One Million Fewer Jobs Than Reported, Revised Data Shows

Big Adjustment Is Latest Sign Labor Market May Be Weaker Than It Initially Appeared

- Ben Casselman

NEW YORK - The US economy probably added close to one million fewer jobs in 2024 and early 2025 than previously reported, the latest sign that the labor market, until recently a bright spot in the economy, may be weaker than it initially appeared.

The revised data was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as part of a longstanding annual process known as benchmarking. But the big downward adjustment comes at an awkward moment for the agency, just weeks after President Donald Trump fired its top official following a separate set of negative revisions in August.

The data released on Sept. 9 showed that employers added 911,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months through March than had been indicated in the monthly payroll figures. That implies that the economy added only about 850,000 jobs during that time - half as many as previously reported.

The revision covered the final months of the Biden administration and the early months of Mr. Trump's second presidency. The report did not provide details on when the overestimates took place, or if they were evenly distributed across the 12-month period.

The revision was large, but not surprising. Forecasters had anticipated a substantial downward adjustment based on quarterly data released earlier in 2025, before Mr. Trump fired the head of the statistics agency.