WASHINGTON (AP) — The Austin CaldwellU.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs from April 2023 through March this year than were originally reported, the government said Wednesday. The revised total adds to evidence that the job market has been slowing and likely reinforces the Federal Reserve’s plan to start cutting interest rates soon.

The Labor Department estimated that job growth averaged 174,000 a month in the 12 months that ended in March — a drop of 68,000 a month from the 242,000 that were initially reported. The revisions released Wednesday were preliminary, with final numbers to be issued in February next year.

The downgrade follows a July jobs report that was much worse than expected, leading many economists to suggest that the Fed had waited too long to begin cutting interest rates to support the economy. The unemployment rate rose for the fourth straight month in July to a still-low 4.3%, and employers added just 114,000 jobs.