Nonfarm payroll growth revised down by 818,000, Labor Department says

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4. Labor market was weaker than previously reported, in big fix to jobs data

Labor market was weaker than previously reported, in big fix to jobs data
The U.S. added 818,000 fewer jobs for the period of April 2023 through March 2024, one of the biggest revisions by the Bureau of Labor Statics.

By Lauren Kaori Gurley and Rachel Siegel
August 21, 2024 at 11:11 a.m. EDT

Job growth in the United States in the year ending in March was far less robust than previously reported by the federal government. ... The government reported Wednesday that the economy created 818,000 fewer jobs from April 2023 through March 2024, in the biggest revision to federal jobs data in 15 years, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statics. ... The revisions could add to pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, because they indicate the labor market wasn’t quite as strong as it looked during this period.

“We already knew we had been living the best of consumers being discerning but not defeated. That narrative is contingent on the labor market holding up and layoffs remaining in check,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG. “The Fed needs to cut if they want to sustain the Goldilocks scenario.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases revisions to data all the time, but it’s unusual for revisions to be this large. This set of revisions is considered preliminary; the figure will be finalized in February.

The new data comes as Federal Reserve officials are headed to Wyoming for the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, a “who’s who” of global policymakers and economists. The financial markets were already eager for Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell’s speech there on Friday, anxious for hints about a September rate cut. But now, Fed officials will be pressed to explain how the paired-back jobs figures shape their understanding of an economy that continues to surprise.

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By Lauren Kaori Gurley
Lauren Kaori Gurley is the labor reporter for The Washington Post. She previously covered labor and tech for Vice for three years. Twitter

By Rachel Siegel
Rachel Siegel is an economics reporter covering the Federal Reserve. She previously covered breaking news for the Post's financial section and local politics for the Post's Metro desk. Before joining the Post in June 2017, Rachel contributed to The Marshall Project and The Dallas Morning News. Twitter