U.S. has 501,000 fewer jobs than first reported

WASHINGTON — The U.S. job market isn’t quite as strong as originally believed — with revised figures showing that the economy had 501,000 fewer total jobs this March than initially reported.

The Labor Department says that nearly two-thirds of the downward revision came from the retail and leisure and hospitality sectors, the industries most associated with consumer spending.

Retailers had 146,400 fewer jobs, while leisure and hospitality — which includes hotels and restaurants — had 175,000 fewer workers.

Business services, health care, construction and manufacturing were also lower than first reported.

This was the sharpest downward revision in jobs totals since 2009, when the economy was just starting to emerge from the Great Recession.

The Labor Department will update these revisions in February 2020.