July 2025 Jobs Report: Labor Market Cools as Participation Drops

Health care leads modest job gains, but rising unemployment and shrinking workforce signal mounting pressure

Include a personal profile or introduction statement at the top of your resume

Fermentum quis tincidunt nunc dui egestas. Vel fringilla odio amet sed dignissim purus id aliquam commodo egestas parturient viverra tincidunt viverra condimentum adipiscing consectetur placerat odio justo neque neque. Tristique adipiscing purus platea quis blandit sollicitudin tortor magna vulputate condimentum nullam lorem pharetra lorem et urna.

Erat scelerisque eu dui diam varius in proin sit elementum amet vitae et.
Enim elementum bibendum habitasse mauris at amet aliquet morbi risus.
Ipsum ultrices sit massa amet nulla lobortis justo pharetra metus mattis felis.
Tempor sollicitudin et maecenas aliquam turpis suspendisse non eget.

Add an infographic element that displays your best traits and accomplishments

Fermentum quis tincidunt nunc dui egestas. Vel fringilla odio amet sed dignissim purus id aliquam commodo egestas parturient viverra tincidunt viverra condimentum adipiscing consectetur placerat odio justo neque neque. Tristique adipiscing purus platea quis blandit sollicitudin tortor magna vulputate condimentum nullam lorem.

Add Infographic - Jobboardly X Webflow Template — Erat scelerisque eu dui diam varius in proin sit elementum amet vitae et.

Use headings and subheadings throughout your resume to highlight key sections and make the information easier to read

At montes at ut arcu ut faucibus tempor pretium. In lobortis id nisi cursus massa vel volutpat mauris. Turpis vitae mi nibh gravida id adipiscing. Convallis turpis pellentesque bibendum velit facilisi. Quam vitae lacus nullam lorem adipiscing suspendisse quis tortor aenean. Massa ipsum accumsan arcu.

Feugiat in feugiat egestas scelerisque eget phasellus ipsum imperdiet.
Convallis nulla id quis suspendisse enim molestie sed feugiat neque egestas.
Natoque in massa mi quis. Mi amet sed curabitur in urna venenatis sem.
Id viverra sed pellentesque rhoncus eu gravida suscipit et vulputate.

Utilize space by using bullet points to outline skills and job qualifications

At montes at ut arcu ut faucibus tempor pretium. In lobortis id nisi cursus massa vel volutpat mauris. Turpis vitae mi nibh gravida id adipiscing. Convallis turpis pellentesque bibendum velit facilisi. Quam vitae lacus nullam lorem adipiscing suspendisse quis tortor aenean. Massa ipsum accumsan arcu.

“Nec nunc morbi dolor volutpat a ullamcorper fusce gravida condimentum sit turpis nunc est vitae ornare augue odio nec varius sed”

Incorporate visuals and images such as graphs and charts

At montes at ut arcu ut faucibus tempor pretium. In lobortis id nisi cursus massa vel volutpat mauris. Turpis vitae mi nibh gravida id adipiscing. Convallis turpis pellentesque bibendum velit facilisi. Quam vitae lacus nullam lorem adipiscing suspendisse quis tortor aenean. Massa ipsum accumsan arcu.

📉 July 2025 Jobs Report: Hiring Slows, Participation Drops, and Labor Market Shows Signs of Strain

The U.S. labor market continued to cool in July 2025, with job growth moderating and labor force participation slipping to multi-year lows. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 187,000, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2%.

Unemployment Edges Up as Participation Rate Falls

The number of unemployed persons rose to 7.0 million, up from 6.8 million in June. The labor force participation rate fell to 62.2%, the lowest since November 2022, and the employment-population ratio dipped slightly to 60.1%.

These shifts suggest that more individuals may be exiting the labor force altogether, a potentially worrying sign amid broader economic uncertainty.

Demographic Breakdown: Disparities Remain

Unemployment rates varied across key demographics:

Adult men: 3.9%
Adult women: 3.8%
Teenagers: 12.5%
White workers: 3.6%
Black workers: 7.2% (up from 6.8%)
Hispanic workers: 5.2%
Asian workers: 3.3%

The sharp rise in Black unemployment continues a trend where marginalized groups experience economic strain earlier than the broader workforce, often serving as a leading indicator for deeper labor market stress.

Industry Trends: Health Care and Social Assistance Carry the Weight

While headline job growth continued, it remained concentrated in just a few sectors:

Health care: +63,000 jobs
- Ambulatory health care: +33,000
- Hospitals: +17,000
- Nursing and residential care: +13,000
Social assistance: +21,000 (primarily in individual and family services)
Construction: +18,000 (largely residential specialty trade contractors)
Financial activities: +19,000

Other major sectors, like manufacturing, retail, and professional services, saw little or no change, with manufacturing flat for the second month in a row.

The narrow scope of job gains underscores the fragility of the current recovery. If health care hiring slows, total job growth could easily slip into contraction territory.

Workweek and Wages

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls declined slightly to 34.3 hours. For production and nonsupervisory employees, the average was 33.7 hours.

Average hourly earnings rose by 0.3% in July to $34.10, and have increased by 3.8% over the past year. However, that pace continues to cool from post-pandemic highs, suggesting less wage pressure heading into the fall.

Job Revisions Reveal Softer Past Growth

Revisions to previous months show slower hiring than initially reported:

May 2025: revised from +218,000 to +201,000
June 2025: revised from +206,000 to +174,000

Combined, these downward revisions subtracted 49,000 jobs from previously reported figures.

These adjustments—while not as dramatic as earlier in the year—underscore the volatility and uncertainty in real-time economic data.

Conclusion: Recovery Continues, But Vulnerabilities Grow

July’s employment report reinforces a growing narrative: the labor market is gradually cooling, and hiring momentum is increasingly dependent on a handful of sectors. The drop in labor force participation, rise in long-term unemployment, and soft job growth outside of health care point to broader fragilities that may surface more clearly in the months ahead.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situation, July 2025, released August 2, 2025.