January 2020 -- Trump "loses" 501,000 jobs -- what does that mean ?

What just happened ?

Other than some 

Democrats getting

really excited !

The annual 

benchmark 

revisions to the 

establishment 

( aka "payroll" ) 

survey 

(plus the

annual 

introduction 

of new population 

controls for the 

household 

employment 

survey). 

The Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

had a large 

downward 

adjustment 

of -501,000 

to the level of 

March 2019 

employment. 

This implies 

a -42,000 

per month

slower pace 

of job growth,

on average, 

from April 2018 

to March 2019 

( +168,000 / month

             vs. 

+210,000 / month )

President Trump's 

State of the Union 

address highlighted

7 million net jobs 

created since 

he took office.

Actual data,

for January 2020

to January 2017,

confirms his

claim:

Payroll Survey:

+6,559,000

Household Survey:

+ 6,585,000

These are 
excellent

numbers

for an 
economic

recovery 
that was 
already 

7.5 years old

when Trump 

took office.

But the overall

rebound from

the last Recession 

was the weakest

( Real GDP growth )

since GDP data were 

first compiled in 1929.

This is most 

easily seen 

in the labor force

participation rate,

that never returned 

to the pre-Great 

Recession level.

( aka: The December 

2007 Recession )