According to ChainCatcher, the U.S. Bureau of Labor released the preliminary report on non-farm employment and wages (QCEW) for the first quarter of 2024. The new data showed that U.S. job growth was much weaker than initially reported. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the preliminary estimate of the annual benchmark revision showed that the total number of non-farm employment in the United States in March 2024 was revised down by 818,000, a downward revision of 0.5%. Previously, some institutions predicted that it would decrease by up to 1 million.
The revised data is likely to reignite concerns among markets and economists that the labor market is deteriorating much faster than initially expected, and the data could heighten worries that the Federal Reserve is behind the curve in cutting interest rates. Wednesday’s data will help shape Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s latest assessment of the labor market, which he will deliver on Friday at the central bank’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.