Employers Added 1M Fewer Jobs Than Believed

The latest jobs stats add to the evidence that the labor market is shakier than believed— and has been for a while:

• Big revision: The Bureau of Labor Statistics said employers added 911,000 fewer jobs than initially thought from April 2024 through March 2025, reports the Washington Post. The period stretches from the end of Joe Biden's final year in office to the first part of President Trump's new term.
• New number: The comprehensive revision, known as a benchmark, means the economy added about 850,000 jobs during the period in question, roughly half the initially reported total, per the New York Times. The revision is preliminary and won't be official until early next year.

• Expectations: The Wall Street consensus expected a negative revision, and the number came in on the higher side of the forecasts, reports CNBC. The Dow and the benchmark S&P 500 edged lower in the wake of the report.
• Context: The revision comes after Trump fired the head of the BLS and accused her of rigging the monthly jobs numbers to make him look bad. His nominated successor awaits Senate confirmation. Benchmark revisions are typically much smaller, notes the Times, but this would be the second unusually large one in a row.