October jobs report includes big revisions

The government sharply revised upward the number of jobs created in September and August. The larger job totals for those two months were included in the October employment report, which was released Friday. They largely reflect late data submitted by companies and other employers.

Revisions are done each month for the preceding two months. So far this year, they have shown an additional 196,000 jobs created. The biggest revisions have been to hiring in August. Initially, the government said zero net jobs were created. Since then, the number has been revised up to 104,000.

Revisions can signal a trend in hiring, economists say. They tend to be higher when the economy is adding jobs, and lower when employers are shedding positions. Below is a table showing revisions to each month this year.