US Job Market Added a Lot Fewer Jobs Than Reported for the Year

The US job market might be slowing down faster than anticipated, with recent employment data showing that it added 818,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.

Finding a job has been quite a rollercoaster over the last few years. From the global furloughing during the pandemic to the Great Resignation, the job market has seen its fair share of tumult in a very short period of time.

By all reports, though, the previous year has been rock-solid, adding a lot of jobs to improve the economy. Unfortunately, a new employment report tells a slightly different story.

Jobs Report Shows 818,000 Fewer Than Reported

This week, the Department of Labor made a statement noting that the number of jobs added for the year — which ended on March 31st for the report — was likely 818,000 jobs less than the monthly updates reported throughout the year.

“The labor market appears weaker than originally reported.” – Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial to CBS

While the final report is not out yet, the estimates note that monthly job additions were likely 70,000 less than reported at the time, which was around 231,000 per month.

Should You Be Worried?

Obviously, this sounds like pretty bad news. Nearly a million jobs being absent from the report must point to a troubling future for the economy, right? Well, not exactly.

“This preliminary estimate doesn’t change the fact that the jobs recovery has been and remains historically strong, delivering solid job and wage gains, strong consumer spending, and record small business creation,” Jared Bernstein, Council of Economic Advisers Chair for the Biden Administration in a statement.

The reality is, the job market is still doing quite well, even with this somewhat egregious miscalculation. And given the official report won’t be available until February 2025, it’s safe to say that all this speculation is just that: speculation.

Finding a Job in 2024

When you’re looking for employment, seeing the latest jobs report probably doesn’t fill you with a lot of hope. Fortunately, not all jobs are being reported as lower, with transportation and warehousing industries actually expected to add even more jobs that previously reported, according to data from the Department of Labor.

Beyond that, there are honestly plenty of jobs out there, depending on what you’re looking for. At Tech.co, we do monthly roundups of the top remote jobs that are available right now from a wide range of companies. We even provide some guides to helpful resources, like image generators for professional headshots.

All that to say, don’t let the jobs report get you down if you’re currently in the market for a new job. Because you don’t need to find 818,000 positions, you just need to find the right one.