MNI BRIEF: US Employment Revised Down by 166K on Services

U.S. employment was revised down by 166,000 as of March in an annual exercise by the Bureau of Labor Statistics published Wednesday, as service-sector employment tanked and government hiring was revised higher.

Downward revisions were concentrated in leisure and hospitality at 597,000 and other services at 216,000, with both declines worth more than 4%. Government payrolls and transportation/warehousing were both were revised up by about 250,000.

Preliminary revisions won't be incorporated into historical employment data until final revisions are released in February, though the difference between preliminary and final revisions are typically small.