The U.S. job market wasn't as strong as it appeared to be in much of 2023 and early 2024, according to a new government revision of jobs data.Employers added 818,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months ended March 2024 than were originally reported, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday. Job growth averaged 174,000 a month in the year that ended in March — a drop of 68,000 a month from the 242,000 jobs that were initially reported.
One reason for the bigger-than-usual revision could be that the new data excludes unauthorized immigrants, since the QCEW is based on unemployment claims, which would exclude people who don't have legal status as they typically do not qualify for benefits, Goldman Sachs economists said in a research note. Because of that, the new revision could actually be short as many as 500,000 unauthorized immigrants who may be working since last year's payroll growth, they added.