Revisions to previously released jobs numbers have become increasingly common in recent years, but this week, investors and economists witnessed the largest revision to U.S. payroll data since 2009, just after the Global Financial Crisis.
The U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs than previously reported between March 2023 and March 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed Wednesday. Still, despite the ugly data, which led to concerns among some investors about a weakening labor market, the stock market reaction was muted. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.4% by 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.33% and 0.45%, respectively.
