Massive Jobs Revisions Cast a Shadow Over Biden’s Economic Legacy

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1427 EAT on Wednesday 10 September 2025

Recent job reports and a wave of employment data over the past two months have made one thing clear: America’s labor market has significantly weakened. Critics of former President Donald Trump have pointed to these numbers as evidence that his policies — including sweeping tariffs and aggressive immigration enforcement — have stifled what was otherwise a healthy economy.

While Trump’s approach may have played a role in producing some of the weakest employment figures in years, the extent of his responsibility may be more nuanced than his detractors suggest.

As it turns out, the labor market former President Donald Trump inherited from Joe Biden was not as robust as previously believed. On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its preliminary annual benchmark revisions for the period between April 2024 and March 2025, revealing that 911,000 fewer jobs were added than earlier reported.

“The revisions show that Biden’s economy was a disaster and the BLS is broken,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to CNN.

Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, Leavitt added that the sharp downward revision “makes it very clear that President Trump inherited a much worse economy from the Biden administration than was ever previously reported.”

She’s not wrong — the historic job growth seen during President Biden’s first two years in office did slow considerably in 2023 and largely stalled in 2024, before rebounding strongly near the end of his term.

“These revisions are essentially rewriting history,” said Brett Ryan, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank.

The newly revised data suggests that former President Trump inherited a weaker economy than previously understood, reframing the recent slowdown in hiring — and, in some sectors, rising layoffs — as a continuation of trends already underway when President Biden left office in January.

For instance, the professional and business services sector cut 17,000 jobs last month, marking one of the sharpest declines across all industries. It was also among the hardest hit in Tuesday’s benchmark revisions, which slashed previously reported job gains in the sector by 158,000.

Similarly, the wholesale trade sector lost nearly 12,000 jobs last month and has seen workforce declines in four of President Trump’s first six months in office. Initially, it was believed that 41,000 jobs were added in the sector during Biden’s final year — but Tuesday’s benchmark revision revealed those gains were overstated by a staggering 110,000 jobs between April 2024 and March 2025. Viewed in that context, the early struggles of Trump’s labor market appear more understandable.

However, former President Trump’s implementation of historic tariffs may have further strained the wholesale trade sector, as international commerce — particularly with China — slowed significantly this past spring, according to CNN.

The tariffs were part of a broader strategy aimed at reviving America’s long-declining manufacturing industry. While manufacturing jobs surged during the first two years of President Biden’s term — adding 736,000 positions in 2021 and 2022 — the momentum reversed, with factories shedding 129,000 jobs across 2023 and 2024.

Invest or Donate towards HICGI New Agency Global Media Establishment – Watch video here