ADDS LABOR SECRETARY'S REMARKS
By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The US labor market created far fewer jobs than expected in the year before March 2025, a Labor Department report showed on Tuesday.
According to a preliminary report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), annual revisions to the non-farm payroll data for the year before March 2025 revealed a decrease of 911,000 from the initial estimates, exceeding market expectations.
The data, derived from the quarterly census and which take into account new figures of openings and closings from companies, showed a weaker labor market in the world's biggest economy.
Retail trade (minus 126,200), professional and business services (minus 158,000), and leisure and hospitality (minus 176,000) had the largest downward revisions.
The majority of industries had downward adjustments, with the exception of utilities, transportation, and warehousing. Government positions were reduced by 31,000.
Data from recent months has also suggested a lackluster job market. In August, the economy added just 22,000 jobs, well below market expectations.
In June, the figure was also revised downwards by 27,000 to a loss of 13,000, the first loss since December 2020.
The data also created a spat between US President Donald Trump and the bureau.
Trump questioned the accuracy of the federal data last month, calling government economic reports "rigged" as he fired then-Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer when data contradicted his narrative.
Evaluating the downward revision, US Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said it is "imperative" for the data to remain accurate, impartial and never altered for political gain.
"Today’s massive downward revision gives the American people even more reason to doubt the integrity of data being published by the BLS," she wrote on the US social media company, X.
"Leaders at the bureau failed to improve their practices during the Biden administration, utilizing outdated methods that rendered a once reliable system completely ineffective and calling into question the motivation behind their inaction," Chavez-DeRemer noted.
She said Trump and the administration are putting a stop to years of "neglect."
"We’re committed to finding solutions to these problems, including by modernizing to improve transparency and deliver more accurate and timely data for American businesses and workers," she added.