U.S. payrolls estimated at 911,000 lower in year through March

Job growth was far less robust in the year through March than previously reported, adding to mounting pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.

The number of workers on payrolls will likely be revised down by 911,000 for the 12 months through March — or nearly 76,000 less each month on average — according to the government’s preliminary benchmark revision out Tuesday. The final figures are due early next year.

Before the report, the government’s payrolls data indicated employers added nearly 1.8 million total jobs in the year through March on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, or an average of 149,000 per month.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics adjustment indicates the labor market slowdown in recent months followed an extended period of more moderate job growth that may lay the groundwork for a series of interest-rate cuts beginning next week. Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently acknowledged risks to the job market have increased, and two of his colleagues preferred to lower borrowing costs in July.

Traders widely expect central bankers to cut rates at the conclusion of their two-day meeting Sept. 17.

While benchmark revisions are carried out every year, they’ve garnered added attention this year with investors and Fed watchers looking for any signs that the labor market may be slowing faster than previously thought. The adjustments have also spilled into politics, where President Trump has previously lambasted revisions to jobs data.

Saraiva writes for Bloomberg.