"The BLS's Preliminary Benchmark Revision cut total employment between March 2024 and March 2025 by 991,000 jobs, a 0.6% downward adjustment. That marks one of the sharpest annual recalibrations in recent history. Prior to Friday's release, economists had expected a revision closer to 682,000. The BLS noted that benchmark revisions are usually within a plus-minus of 0.2%. After the update, the data paint a much weaker picture of hiring momentum."
"Job growth in 2024 now averages just 106,000 per month, down from the originally reported 168,000. For 2025 so far, the pace has slowed to only 44,000 jobs per month. "The revision shows the economy entered 2025 with less momentum than previously understood," said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank in Dallas, in a statement to Fortune. The preliminary benchmark revision was worse than expected, the Comerica statement added."
"The biggest hit came in the information industry, a category that includes internet companies, software publishing, and broadcasting. Employment here was revised down by 67,000, or 2.3%. Between March 2024 and March 2025, information sector jobs were revised down by 88,000, a 3% decline-and they've continued falling into this summer. Adams noted that "The revised data show more clearly that AI is automating away tech jobs.""
A benchmark revision reduced total U.S. employment between March 2024 and March 2025 by 991,000 jobs, a 0.6% downward adjustment and one of the sharpest annual recalibrations. Economists had expected a smaller revision near 682,000; benchmark revisions typically fall within plus-minus 0.2%. Monthly job growth averaged 106,000 in 2024 (previously reported as 168,000) and slowed to about 44,000 per month in 2025, indicating weaker hiring momentum. The information sector suffered the largest percentage declines, with notable downward revisions also in leisure and hospitality, wholesale trade, and professional and business services.
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