NEW: Biden-Harris admin added 818,000 LESS jobs than previous estimates

According to Forbes, the total employment growth between March 2023 and March 2024 was initially estimated to be 2.9 million. Average monthly growth as dropped with the revision from 242,000 per month to around 174,000.

The update is part of a regularly scheduled benchmark revision, in which the government uses more precise quarterly unemployment claim data to recalibrate its numbers, compared to monthly surveys of employers that are initially used.

Ahead of the release of the new data, economists were predicting job growth to be revised down by as much as 1 million.

According to CNBC, the -0.5 percent revision is the largest since 2009. Despite jobs added being over 2 million during that period, such a report could be an indication that the labor market is not as strong as it has been made out to be, and could push the Federal Reserve to start lowering interest rates.

“The labor market appears weaker than originally reported,” said chief economist at LPL Financial Jeffrey Roach. “A deteriorating labor market will allow the Fed to highlight both sides of the dual mandate and investors should expect the Fed to prepare markets for a cut at the September meeting.”

The Professional and business services sector saw the largest downward revision at 358,000. Leisure and hospitality was revised down by 150,000, manufacturing by 115,000, and trade, transportation, and utilities by 104,000.

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