The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its August 2025 Report, so let’s take a look at how employment fared over the last month.
The great news is:
- Healthcare hiring continued: +31,000 jobs in August, with gains across ambulatory care (+13,000), nursing/residential care (+9,000), and hospitals (+9,000).
- Social assistance grew: +16,000 jobs, entirely from individual and family services.
- Wages are up: Average hourly earnings rose $0.10 (+0.3%) to $36.53; up 3.7% over the past year.
The good news is:
- Unemployment steady: 4.3%, little changed over the month or the year.
- New entrants declined: The number of unemployed looking for their first job fell by 199,000, offsetting last month’s increase.
- Workweek stable: Average hours worked held at 34.2 for all employees and 33.7 for production/nonsupervisory workers.
The bad news is:
- Overall job growth stalled: +22,000 in August, continuing the sluggish trend since April.
- Government jobs fell: Federal employment dropped -15,000 in August and is down -97,000 since January.
- Industry losses: Mining (-6,000), wholesale trade (-12,000), and manufacturing (-12,000) all shed jobs, with transportation equipment manufacturing alone down -15,000 due to strike activity.
- Long-term unemployment elevated: 1.9 million, making up 25.7% of the unemployed, up 385,000 over the year.
- Participation slipping: Labor force participation (62.3%) and employment-population ratio (59.6%) both remain 0.4 points lower than a year ago.
- Downward revisions: June revised down from +14,000 to -13,000; July revised up from +73,000 to +79,000, leaving combined employment 21,000 lower than previously reported.
Final Takeaway
The August 2025 jobs report reflects a labor market struggling to gain momentum. Healthcare and social assistance remain bright spots, and wages continue to rise modestly. However, weak overall job growth, federal and industry-specific declines, and persistent long-term unemployment point to a cooling job market. Both employers and job seekers should prepare for a slower pace of hiring and more competition heading into the fall.