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The government revises job numbers annually as more information becomes available.
Former President Donald Trump falsely stated in Milwaukee that the Biden administration “fraudulently claimed” to have created 818,000 jobs.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Aug. 21, 2024, “in accordance with usual practice,” its estimate of the annual “benchmark revision” of jobs numbers. The revision will occur in February 2025.
The estimate said the number of jobs added in the year ending March 31, 2024, was 818,000 fewer than had been previously shown in monthly reports.
Monthly figures come from employer surveys; the annual revision comes from unemployment records.
“Economists across the ideological spectrum” said the revision was not manipulation, PolitiFact reported.
The revision of 0.5% was higher than the 0.1% average and the highest since 2009.
Under Trump, there was a 0.3% downward adjustment of 514,000 jobs for the year ending March 31, 2019.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Forbes Breaking News: Trump Unleashes Attacks On Kamala Harris At Campaign Rally In Milwaukee, Wisconsin
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: CES Preliminary Benchmark Announcement
Economic Policy Innovation Center: Why Did the Bureau of Labor Statistics Just Cut Its Employment Estimates by 818,000 Jobs? – EPIC for America
PolitiFact: Donald Trump’s Pants on Fire claim that Biden, Harris manipulated job data
Conference Board: Payroll Revisions Could Cut 800,000 from Jobs Gains, or Not
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: BLS Establishment Survey National Estimates Revised to Incorporate March 2019 Benchmarks
Politico: US job totals will likely be revised down by 818,000 as Trump cries fraud – POLITICO
SanTander Corporate Investment & Banking: A primer on the benchmark payroll revision
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