August 2025 Employment Situation

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in August (+22,000) and has shown little change since April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent, also changed little in August. A job gain in health care was partially offset by losses in federal government and in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note.

Household Survey Data

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.4 million, changed little in August. These measures also changed little over the year. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.1 percent), adult women (3.8 percent), teenagers (13.9 percent), Whites (3.7 percent), Blacks (7.5 percent), Asians (3.6 percent), and Hispanics (5.3 percent) showed little or no change in August. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Among the unemployed, the number of new entrants decreased by 199,000 in August to 786,000, largely offsetting an increase in the prior month. New entrants are unemployed people who are looking for their first job. (See table A-11.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.9 million in August but has increased by 385,000 over the year. In August, the long-term unemployed accounted for 25.7 percent of all unemployed people. (See table A-12.)

In August, the labor force participation rate changed little at 62.3 percent, and the employment-population ratio was unchanged at 59.6 percent. Both measures have declined by 0.4 percentage point over the year. (See table A-1.)

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.7 million, changed little in August. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-8.)

The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job, at 6.4 million, changed little in August but was up by 722,000 over the year. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job. (See table A-1.)

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force changed little at 1.8 million in August. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, also changed little over the month at 514,000. (See Summary table A.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in August (+22,000) and has shown little change since April. Over the month, a job gain in health care was partially offset by losses in federal government and in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. (See table B-1.)

In August, health care added 31,000 jobs, below the average monthly gain of 42,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment continued to trend up over the month in ambulatory health care services (+13,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000), and hospitals (+9,000).

Employment in social assistance continued to trend up in August (+16,000), reflecting continued job growth in individual and family services (+16,000).

Federal government employment continued to decline in August (-15,000) and is down by 97,000 since reaching a peak in January. (Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.)

In August, employment in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction declined by 6,000, after changing little over the prior 12 months.

Wholesale trade employment continued to trend down in August (-12,000) and has fallen by 32,000 since May.

Manufacturing employment changed little in August (-12,000) but is down by 78,000 over the year. Employment in transportation equipment manufacturing declined by 15,000 over the month, in part due to strike activity.

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including construction, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and other services.

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $36.53 in August. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.7 percent. In August, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 12 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $31.46. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

In August, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was 34.2 hours for the third month in a row. In manufacturing, the average workweek edged down to 40.0 hours, and overtime remained unchanged at 2.9 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours in August. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised down by 27,000, from +14,000 to -13,000, and the change for July was revised up by 6,000, from +73,000 to +79,000. With these revisions, employment in June and July combined is 21,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)