March 2026 Current Employment Statistics Preliminary Benchmark (National) — 2026-08-28

The preliminary estimate of the Current Employment Statistics (CES) national benchmark revision to total nonfarm employment for March 2026 was -79,000 (-0.1 percent), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The preliminary benchmark revision for total private employment was -178,000 (-0.1 percent). The annual benchmark revisions over the last 10 years have an absolute average of 0.2 percent of total nonfarm employment. In accordance with usual practice, the final benchmark revision will be issued in February 2027 with the publication of the January 2027 Employment Situation news release. Each year, CES employment estimates are benchmarked to comprehensive counts of employment from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). These counts are derived primarily from state unemployment insurance (UI) tax records that nearly all employers are required to file with state workforce agencies. The preliminary benchmark revision reflects the difference between two independently derived employment counts, each subject to their own sources of error.