U.S. added fewer jobs in the past year than initially reported

U.S employers added fewer jobs in the year ending in March than initially reported, according to new figures released by the Labor Department Wednesday.

The news comes during an election season in which the strength of the economy is a key issue for voters.

The revised figures show total employment in March was 818,000 lower than had been reported, or 0.5% fewer jobs. That suggests employers added 2.1 million jobs during the previous 12 month, not 2.9 million as originally counted.

While the downward revision is not unusual, this year’s adjustment is larger than most. It takes a bit of the shine off job growth during President Biden’s time in office — although even with the lower figure, the 14 million jobs added during his first three years in office would outpace that of the three previous presidents. Former president Trump oversaw a net loss of jobs, due to widespread layoffs during the pandemic.

The revision is part of a routine, annual exercise in which the government checks its monthly jobs numbers — which come from a sampling of employers — against much more complete data from state tax records. Wednesday’s figures are preliminary. A final tally will be released early next year.

News of slower job growth also comes as the Federal Reserve is monitoring the strength of the labor market ahead of a key decision on interest rates next month.