The jobs market is undeniably strong, as Friday’s employment report for January confirmed. But not as strong as being touted.  What wasn’t reported in most of the media celebration was that in 2023 there were 1.2 million fewer Americans employed than previously reported throughout the year. Our ace economist EJ Antoni shows that the average revisions per month were a little more than 100,000, or 1.25 million for the year.

Meanwhile, average hourly work per week is falling because of a surge in part-time employment. Part-time employment has risen by roughly 1.6 million over the past three years. We’re not against people working part-time, but fewer hours worked means smaller paychecks and more financial stress for families.