Total U.S. jobs

Job growth in the national economy slowed dramatically in recent months, calling into question the years-long resiliency of the labor market. 

Employers added a net 73,000 jobs on a seasonally-adjusted basis in July, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

In addition to the modest July increase, the preliminary readings from the previous two months were revised significantly lower. Revised figures show employment gains of just 19,000 in May (down from 144,000) and 14,000 in June (down from 147,000).  

As a result, the average gain of just 35,000 jobs during the last 3 months was well below the 123,000 jobs added during the first 4 months of 2025.

Despite the slowdown, July marked the 55th consecutive month of job growth, a period during which the national economy added 17 million jobs. As a result of the steady gains, total U.S. employment stood nearly 6.5 million (or 4.8%) above the February 2020 pre-pandemic peak.
 

The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in July from 4.1% in June, which is still low by historical standards. The number of unemployed individuals increased from 7.02 million in June to 7.24 million in July. At the same time, the number of employed individuals fell from 163.37 million in June to 163.11 million in July.
 

The labor force participation rate dipped from 62.3% in June to 62.2% in July, the lowest since November 2022. This suggests that more prospective workers have stepped away from the labor force in recent months, contributing to the continued low levels of the unemployment rate.

Average hourly earnings for private-sector production and nonsupervisory workers rose 0.3% in July. Wages increased 3.9% year-over-year—a solid pace of growth. Even so, labor cost pressures have moderated significantly from the recent peak of 7.0% in March 2022.

Job growth in July was mixed across sectors. The private sector added a net 83,000 jobs in January, while government employment declined by 10,000. Below is a detailed breakdown of July’s employment changes by sector, ranked from highest to lowest:

• Private education and health services: +79,000
• Financial activities: +15,000
• Trade, transportation, and utilities: +11,000 (retail trade: +15,700)
• Leisure and hospitality: +5,000 (eating and drinking places: -300)
• State government: +5,000
• Other services: +2,000
• Construction: +2,000
• Information: -2,000
• Local government: -3,000
• Mining and logging: -4,000
• Federal government: -12,000
• Manufacturing: -11,000
• Professional and business services: -14,000

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