The U.S. economy likely created 79,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months through March than previously estimated, the government said on Friday.
The preliminary annual benchmark revision estimate to the closely watched payrolls data from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) came weeks after it reported a surprise drop in employment in July.
The U.S. job creation rate has already been decelerating over the last two years, in part because of slower demand for labor from businesses uncertain about the economic outlook and whether the artificial intelligence boom would allow them to replace workers with tech tools. Also, there has been a reduction in the pool of available workers because of retirements and President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdowns.
(Reporting By Dan Burns; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
