The US jobs market has been running in a much lower gear than previously thought, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday

The Bureau of Labor Statistics report suggests that the US economy added about 911,000 fewer jobs than initially estimated for the year ending in March. If this holds – the final annual benchmark revision will be reported in February 2026 – it would be the largest on record.

Tuesday’s estimated downward payroll revision is the first step in an annual benchmark review of jobs data conducted by the BLS.

Every year, the BLS seeks to provide a near-complete employment count by squaring past jobs data from business surveys (more timely but not as accurate) with comprehensive unemployment insurance quarterly tax filings (highly accurate but significantly lagged

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