As part of the agency's annual benchmark review of payroll data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised down March 2023's employment gains by 306,000 positions.
"The change is -0.2% and the average adjustment over the last 10 years has been 0.1%," Chris Rupkey, economist with FwdBonds, wrote in a note Wednesday. "We don't see any sign here that the labor market is secretly weak." For now, the economy continues to do its darnedest to stave off the breathless calls for an impending recession: Job growth has slowed from a red-hot clip to a steadily strong pace, layoffs haven't become widespread and consumers continue to spend enough to keep the economy growing.
Some of the biggest headwinds include rising delinquency rates on credit card and auto loan debt, the drawdown of excess savings as well as slower job growth, he said.