What’s Up with That Drop in Jobs Numbers?

Business and finance circles were buzzing this week when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in its annual benchmark revision that the number of jobs added to the U.S. economy from April 2023 through March 2024 was far fewer that had been reported previously—about 28% lower. That downward revision of 818,000 jobs was the largest such revision in 15 years (824,000 was the corresponding number in 2009) and is the inspiration for this week’s Five on Friday.

818,000: The six figures that had pundits and prognosticators talking this past week is the estimated number of jobs overstated in U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics total employment number for the year between April 2023 through March 2024. It’s a juicy number for headlines, but not a number to panic about.

“Let’s remember, the U.S. didn’t lose 818,000 jobs,” notes ECLARO Co-Founder Tom Sheridan. “This is a revision that wasn’t entirely unexpected—some people had even predicted the number might drop by a million. The labor market may have a few more cracks in it that the previous reports suggested, but businesses are still hiring, and the competition for top talent remains strong.”

174,000: The revised average number of jobs added by U.S. employers each month over the 12-month period—down from the originally reported 242,000 but still strong by historical standards.

251,000: Monthly average for 2023

119,000: The approximate number of U.S. businesses and other employers involved in the government payroll-report survey upon which these monthly numbers are based.

4.3%: The current unemployment rate—which is not impacted by the revision, since they are calculated using different data.

“We talked about it last week, we’ve talked about it over that past months and years, and we’ll keep talking about it. The unemployment rate is rising slightly, but it remains historically low, especially among college educated people, which is about half that number,” says ECLARO Co-Founder Paul Sheridan. “Finding the Right People in any labor market is always a challenge when you’re looking to hire the best of the best.”

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