Tuesday the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its revised numbers of nonfarm payrolls in the year leading up to March, dropping previous numbers by 911,000.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised the numbers of jobs added last year (up to March) to reflect 911,000 fewer than previously reported. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI UPI

Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Tuesday the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its revised numbers of nonfarm payrolls in the year leading up to March, dropping the previous numbers by 911,000, which means the labor market created far fewer jobs than were previously thought.

The drop of 911,000 from initial estimates comes from a preliminary report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The total revision was on the high end of Wall Street expectations, which ranged from a low around 600,000 to as many as a million, CNBC reported.

The changes were more than 50% higher than last year's, making them the largest since 2002. Monthly, they suggest average job growth of 76,000 less than initial reports.

The numbers are adjusted from data in the quarterly census and show updated information on business openings and closings. They show more evidence that employment is struggling.

The final benchmark revision will be incorporated into official estimates when the BLS publishes the January 2026 Employment Situation in February.

"The BLS' preliminary benchmark revisions to nonfarm payrolls show a much weaker labor market over most of 2024 and early 2025 than previously estimated," said Oren Klachkin, market economist at Nationwide Financial, to CNBC. "Importantly, the slower job creation implies income growth was also on a softer footing even prior to the recent rise in policy uncertainty and economic slowdown we've seen since the spring. This should give the Fed more impetus to restart its cutting cycle."

Most of the results in the benchmark report were before President Donald Trump took office, suggesting that the economy was weakening before tariffs were implemented. But recent months have shown slow job growth, too.

The August jobs report showed the economy only added 22,000 jobs, and July added only 73,000 jobs, which resulted in Trump firing the BLS administrator.

Most sectors were revised down, but transportation and warehousing and utilities saw gains. The biggest drops were in leisure and hospitality, which saw a donward revision of 176,000, professional and business services were revised down by 158,000. Retail trade went down by 126,200. Government jobs were adjusted down by 31,000.