September 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 edged up by 119,000 in September but has shown little change since April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The unemployment rate, at 4.4 percent, changed little in September. Employment continued to trend up in health care, food services and drinking places, and social assistance. Job losses occurred in transportation and warehousing and in federal government.

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 4.4 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.6 million, changed little in September. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 4.1 percent, and the number of unemployed people was 6.9 million. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult women (4.2 percent) and Asians (4.4 percent) increased in September. The jobless rates for adult men (4.0 percent), teenagers (13.2 percent), Whites (3.8 percent), Blacks (7.5 percent), and Hispanics (5.5 percent) showed little or no change over the month. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.8 million in September. The long-term unemployed accounted for 23.6 percent of all unemployed people. (See table A-12.)

The labor force participation rate, at 62.4 percent, changed little over the month and over the year. The employment-population ratio, at 59.7 percent, also changed little in September but was down by 0.4 percentage point over the year. (See table A-1.)

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.6 million, changed little in September. 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 decreased by 421,000 to 5.9 million in September. 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 1.7 million in September. 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 557,000. (See Summary table A.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 119,000 in September but has shown little change since April. In September, employment continued to trend up in health care, food services and drinking places, and social assistance. Job losses occurred in transportation and warehousing and in federal government. (See table B-1.)

In September, health care added 43,000 jobs, about the same as the average monthly gain of 42,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, employment gains occurred in ambulatory health care services (+23,000) and hospitals (+16,000).

Employment in food services and drinking places continued to trend up in September (+37,000).

In September, social assistance employment continued to trend up (+14,000), reflecting continued job growth in individual and family services (+20,000).

Employment in transportation and warehousing declined by 25,000 in September as job losses occurred in warehousing and storage (-11,000) and couriers and messengers (-7,000).

Federal government employment continued to decline in September (-3,000) 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.)

Employment showed little or no change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; information; financial activities; professional and business services; and other services.

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 9 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $36.67 in September. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.8 percent. In September, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 8 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $31.53. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

In September, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.2 hours. In manufacturing, the average workweek changed little at 39.9 hours, and overtime was unchanged at 2.9 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours in September. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised down by 7,000, from +79,000 to +72,000, and the change for August was revised down by 26,000, from +22,000 to -4,000. With these revisions, employment in July and August combined is 33,000 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.)