The US economy last year created half a million fewer jobs than expected

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The Labor Department is reducing by 501,000 the number of jobs that employers have added to the payroll during the 12-month period from April 2018 to March this year. The government initially estimated that the economy created 2.5 million jobs in those 12 months, just over 200,000 per month. Now, it seems like it will be around 170,000 a month on average.

The government regularly conducts these revisions as it gets more detailed data from employers that it uses to publish monthly estimates of its jobs. This is a preliminary revision. A final revision for this 12-month period is to be published in February.

The labor market has been the foundation of the strength of the US economy, which feared an impending recession in recent weeks. Unemployment remains near the lowest level of the last 50 years. There are more job opportunities than unemployed looking for a job. Surveys show that workers have confidence in the job market and the data shows that they are ready to leave their current job, which is another sign of confidence. And this confidence is important to prevent consumer spending and the economy from coming out of a recession.

The new figures do not suggest that the labor market is weak. A monthly gain of 170,000 jobs is enough to keep unemployment at its lowest level ever. But it is not as hot as previously thought and unemployment may begin to rise if employers slow down their hiring.

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This review shows that the distressed retail sector, affected by store closures and the shift of shoppers to online shopping, has removed many more jobs than the previous estimate. The government previously thought that retailers had cut 32,500 jobs during this period. Now, this loss is estimated at nearly 180,000 jobs.

But it's not just the job losses that have led to the downward revision. It's also from other areas that are not growing as fast as previously thought.

The leisure and hospitality industry, which includes hotels, restaurants, sports teams and theaters were initially estimated at 434,000 additional jobs. Now it seems he has added only about 260,000 jobs.

Business and professional services, a catch-all category that includes everything from accountants to lawyers to waste management and temporary workers, added 163,000 fewer jobs thanks to the review.

But there have been areas that have created more jobs than expected.

Transportation and warehousing, a segment driven by the same shift in online shopping that is hurting traditional retailers, has created about 80,000 more jobs than previously estimated. Financial and Information Services Added 53,000 13,000 additional jobs and various levels of government at the local, regional and federal levels.

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