U.S. added 501K fewer jobs last year than previously reported

Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Labor Department on Wednesday said employers added half a million fewer jobs between early 2018 and early 2019 than previously reported.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lowered its estimates of job gains as part of annual updates based on more complete data. The new findings showed that employers added about 2 million jobs in the year ending in March 2019, down 501,1000 from its previous estimate.

The annual revision is based on state unemployment insurance tax records filed by employers.

According to the revision, the average monthly job gain over the one-year period dropped to about 168,000 from 210,000.

Employment numbers in leisure and hospitality dropped by 175,000 March 2019 and 146,000 in retail compared to the prior report.

Professional and business services also fell by 163,000, while education and health services dropped 69,000.

Job numbers for some industries were greater after the revision, including information which grew by 33,000 and financial activities which rose 20,000.

A final benchmark revision will be issued in February 2020.