Current Employment Statistics Preliminary Benchmark (National) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Friday, August 28, 2026                         USDL- 26-1425
 
 
Technical information: (202) 691-6555  *  cesinfo@bls.gov   *  www.bls.gov/ces
Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov
 
Current Employment Statistics Preliminary Benchmark (National) - March 2026
 
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. It serves as a preliminary measure 
of the total error in CES employment estimates from March 2025 to March 2026. 
 
The preliminary benchmark revisions in table 1 are calculated only for March 2026 for the major 
industry sectors. As is typically the case, many of the individual industry series show larger 
percentage revisions than the total nonfarm series, primarily because statistical sampling error is 
greater at more detailed levels than at an aggregated level. 
 
Official establishment survey estimates are not updated based on this preliminary benchmark revision. 
The final benchmark revision will be incorporated into official estimates with the publication of the 
January 2027 Employment Situation news release in February 2027.
 
 
___________
The final benchmark revision is scheduled to be published in February 2027 with the January 2027 Employment Situation 
news release.

Technical Note

The preliminary March revision amounts presented in this 
release are intended to give a preview of the revisions 
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment 
Statistics (CES) data released in February of each year.
Currently published CES data have not been adjusted to new 
levels based on these preliminary revision amounts. 

The preliminary March revisions are calculated by 
comparing not seasonally adjusted CES employment for March 
of the benchmark year to universe employment counts derived 
mostly from Quarterly Census of Employment and Wage (QCEW) 
data. Additional employment not covered by the QCEW is 
calculated from several sources including County Business 
Patterns and Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll 
data from the Census Bureau, state employment data, and 
data from the Railroad Retirement Board. This noncovered  
employment is added to QCEW employment to arrive at a universe 
employment total. The preliminary March CES revision amounts are 
the universe employment minus the CES estimated employment. 
More information about CES benchmarking is available in 
the Handbook of Methods in the Calculations section on 
Benchmarking, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ces/calculation.htm#benchmark. 
More information about noncovered employment is available 
in the Handbook of Methods in the Calculations 
section on Noncovered employment, 
www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ces/calculation.htm#noncovered-employment.

Universe employment for March is calculated and compared to the 
CES estimates at the basic cell level and then aggregated up to 
the major industry sector, total private, and total nonfarm levels. 
More information about aggregating CES data is available in the 
Handbook of Methods in the Calculations section on Aggregation 
procedures, www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ces/calculation.htm#aggregation-
procedures.

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