by Max Zahn
U.S. employers added far fewer jobs in 2024 and early 2025 than previously thought, indicating the labor market may have been significantly weaker than initial estimates had suggested.
The U.S. economy added 911,000 fewer jobs over the 12 months ending in March than previously estimated, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said on Tuesday. The figure, which exceeded economists’ expectations, appears to be the largest revision ever recorded. The preliminary estimate will be finalized next year.
The revision, a routine step in the compilation of government labor statistics, assesses monthly survey estimates alongside state unemployment data. The fresh data comes weeks after President Donald Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in response to a weak monthly jobs report.
The scale of the revision announced on Tuesday exceeds a downward reduction in hiring estimates last year that has drawn criticism from Trump in recent weeks.
In that case, the BLS said in August 2024 that U.S. employers had hired 818,000 fewer workers over a previous year-long period. When Trump fired McEntarfer last month hours after the release of monthly jobs data, he mentioned frustration with the annual revision issued in 2024.
McEntarfer, a Biden appointee who was confirmed by the Senate in 2024, had served in the federal government for two decades.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy,” McEntarfer said in a social media post after her dismissal. “It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.”
William Beach, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by Trump, condemned McEntarfer’s dismissal.
“The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau,” Beach posted on X.
McEntarfer did not respond to an earlier ABC News request for comment.
