The government revised its estimate of employment growth, finding that from spring 2023–spring 2024 the U.S. added 818,000 fewer jobs than previously reported, according to MarketWatch. The news suggests an earlier and faster cool-off in the labor market than previously thought and solidifies the case for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in September — a move already widely expected.
The revised estimate from the government showed the economy gained roughly 2.1 million jobs between April 2023–March 2024, down from an initial estimate of 2.9 million jobs. That’s the second-largest downward revision ever.
The updated figures mean that the economy created an average of around 175,000 jobs per month over the period in question, rather than 242,000 under the prior estimates. That’s still healthy from a historical standpoint: The U.S. added an average of 180,000 new jobs per month from 2010–19.
Meanwhile, the nation’s jobless rate has hit a nearly three-year high of 4.3% from spring of 2023’s very low 3.4%.
