The United States economy added 911,000 fewer jobs in the year to March than previously reported, according to revised government data, raising fresh concerns about the impact of tariffs and immigration policies on employment.
The Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), in a preliminary update on Tuesday, said non-farm payrolls grew by an average of 71,000 jobs per month during the period, well below the earlier estimate of 147,000.
The sharp revision points to weaker momentum across major sectors, including leisure and hospitality, trade, transportation, utilities, professional services, and manufacturing.
Leisure and hospitality jobs were revised down by 176,000, trade, transportation, and utilities by 226,000, professional and business services by 158,000, while manufacturing employment fell short by 95,000. Government payrolls were also cut by 31,000.
Economists said the slowdown reflects uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade tariffs, tighter immigration controls, and a shift by businesses toward automation and artificial intelligence.
“This means labour market momentum is being lost from an even weaker position than originally thought,” James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, told Reuters.
The report comes ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week, where analysts expect another quarter-point cut in interest rates to cushion the economy.
The BLS explained that the revisions were based on benchmarking monthly payroll figures with the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, though experts have long criticised its “birth-and-death” model for overstating growth by misestimating job creation in new or shuttered businesses.
Political tensions have also clouded labour reporting. Sharp downward revisions to May and June job data reportedly angered Trump, who later dismissed the BLS Commissioner and nominated a controversial replacement.
