health care workers, teacher with children, and a manufacturing worker

About the Author

Claire Mersol is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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11/09/2026

Balancing act: major industry employment changes cancel out in 2025

Job growth continued to slow in 2025. Over the year, job growth was concentrated in a few major industry sectors while several other sectors declined. Health care, social assistance, and other services added jobs, while government, professional and business services, manufacturing, and transportation and warehousing saw employment declines over the year. On average, the United States added 10,000 jobs a month. Private-sector average hourly earnings increased by 3.7 percent.

Nonfarm payroll employment changed little in 2025 (+116,000), as measured by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey.¹ (See chart 1.) On average, the United States added just 10,000 jobs a month in 2025, a fraction of the average monthly gain of the prior year (+122,000) and of the prior 10 years (+150,000). Excluding pandemic-related losses in 2020, the employment change in 2025 was the weakest since 2009.

Chart 1. Total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted, from January 2005 to December 2025
Date	Employment
Jan 2005	132,781,000
Feb 2005	133,034,000
Mar 2005	133,154,000
Apr 2005	133,520,000
May 2005	133,689,000
Jun 2005	133,948,000
Jul 2005	134,300,000
Aug 2005	134,502,000
Sep 2005	134,552,000
Oct 2005	134,641,000
Nov 2005	134,997,000
Dec 2005	135,159,000
Jan 2006	135,427,000
Feb 2006	135,733,000
Mar 2006	136,038,000
Apr 2006	136,210,000
May 2006	136,249,000
Jun 2006	136,337,000
Jul 2006	136,529,000
Aug 2006	136,692,000
Sep 2006	136,826,000
Oct 2006	136,843,000
Nov 2006	137,060,000
Dec 2006	137,249,000
Jan 2007	137,472,000
Feb 2007	137,560,000
Mar 2007	137,784,000
Apr 2007	137,847,000
May 2007	137,992,000
Jun 2007	138,070,000
Jul 2007	138,044,000
Aug 2007	138,013,000
Sep 2007	138,099,000
Oct 2007	138,175,000
Nov 2007	138,290,000
Dec 2007	138,395,000
Jan 2008	138,391,000
Feb 2008	138,329,000
Mar 2008	138,259,000
Apr 2008	138,040,000
May 2008	137,851,000
Jun 2008	137,700,000
Jul 2008	137,497,000
Aug 2008	137,211,000
Sep 2008	136,760,000
Oct 2008	136,291,000
Nov 2008	135,541,000
Dec 2008	134,847,000
Jan 2009	134,079,000
Feb 2009	133,318,000
Mar 2009	132,494,000
Apr 2009	131,822,000
May 2009	131,466,000
Jun 2009	131,008,000
Jul 2009	130,662,000
Aug 2009	130,472,000
Sep 2009	130,246,000
Oct 2009	130,061,000
Nov 2009	130,057,000
Dec 2009	129,808,000
Jan 2010	129,802,000
Feb 2010	129,706,000
Mar 2010	129,866,000
Apr 2010	130,120,000
May 2010	130,642,000
Jun 2010	130,510,000
Jul 2010	130,415,000
Aug 2010	130,415,000
Sep 2010	130,341,000
Oct 2010	130,620,000
Nov 2010	130,749,000
Dec 2010	130,830,000
Jan 2011	130,837,000
Feb 2011	131,057,000
Mar 2011	131,283,000
Apr 2011	131,597,000
May 2011	131,703,000
Jun 2011	131,931,000
Jul 2011	131,992,000
Aug 2011	132,125,000
Sep 2011	132,344,000
Oct 2011	132,553,000
Nov 2011	132,690,000
Dec 2011	132,888,000
Jan 2012	133,246,000
Feb 2012	133,509,000
Mar 2012	133,748,000
Apr 2012	133,825,000
May 2012	133,932,000
Jun 2012	134,013,000
Jul 2012	134,157,000
Aug 2012	134,339,000
Sep 2012	134,517,000
Oct 2012	134,669,000
Nov 2012	134,825,000
Dec 2012	135,074,000
Jan 2013	135,257,000
Feb 2013	135,546,000
Mar 2013	135,689,000
Apr 2013	135,873,000
May 2013	136,096,000
Jun 2013	136,279,000
Jul 2013	136,391,000
Aug 2013	136,646,000
Sep 2013	136,821,000
Oct 2013	137,041,000
Nov 2013	137,317,000
Dec 2013	137,372,000
Jan 2014	137,561,000
Feb 2014	137,712,000
Mar 2014	137,985,000
Apr 2014	138,298,000
May 2014	138,513,000
Jun 2014	138,849,000
Jul 2014	139,072,000
Aug 2014	139,269,000
Sep 2014	139,563,000
Oct 2014	139,798,000
Nov 2014	140,089,000
Dec 2014	140,364,000
Jan 2015	140,568,000
Feb 2015	140,827,000
Mar 2015	140,923,000
Apr 2015	141,196,000
May 2015	141,538,000
Jun 2015	141,709,000
Jul 2015	141,991,000
Aug 2015	142,125,000
Sep 2015	142,275,000
Oct 2015	142,579,000
Nov 2015	142,808,000
Dec 2015	143,077,000
Jan 2016	143,210,000
Feb 2016	143,406,000
Mar 2016	143,662,000
Apr 2016	143,854,000
May 2016	143,900,000
Jun 2016	144,147,000
Jul 2016	144,520,000
Aug 2016	144,661,000
Sep 2016	144,967,000
Oct 2016	145,065,000
Nov 2016	145,183,000
Dec 2016	145,408,000
Jan 2017	145,628,000
Feb 2017	145,846,000
Mar 2017	145,970,000
Apr 2017	146,175,000
May 2017	146,380,000
Jun 2017	146,583,000
Jul 2017	146,772,000
Aug 2017	146,919,000
Sep 2017	147,008,000
Oct 2017	147,149,000
Nov 2017	147,372,000
Dec 2017	147,523,000
Jan 2018	147,660,000
Feb 2018	148,054,000
Mar 2018	148,280,000
Apr 2018	148,420,000
May 2018	148,742,000
Jun 2018	148,960,000
Jul 2018	149,020,000
Aug 2018	149,277,000
Sep 2018	149,358,000
Oct 2018	149,527,000
Nov 2018	149,617,000
Dec 2018	149,809,000
Jan 2019	150,060,000
Feb 2019	150,067,000
Mar 2019	150,295,000
Apr 2019	150,591,000
May 2019	150,618,000
Jun 2019	150,838,000
Jul 2019	150,937,000
Aug 2019	151,169,000
Sep 2019	151,365,000
Oct 2019	151,460,000
Nov 2019	151,667,000
Dec 2019	151,794,000
Jan 2020	152,031,000
Feb 2020	152,293,000
Mar 2020	150,895,000
Apr 2020	130,426,000
May 2020	133,040,000
Jun 2020	137,671,000
Jul 2020	139,255,000
Aug 2020	140,821,000
Sep 2020	141,770,000
Oct 2020	142,460,000
Nov 2020	142,733,000
Dec 2020	142,548,000
Jan 2021	142,863,000
Feb 2021	143,380,000
Mar 2021	144,232,000
Apr 2021	144,587,000
May 2021	145,065,000
Jun 2021	145,820,000
Jul 2021	146,762,000
Aug 2021	147,314,000
Sep 2021	147,771,000
Oct 2021	148,572,000
Nov 2021	149,230,000
Dec 2021	149,816,000
Jan 2022	150,006,000
Feb 2022	150,825,000
Mar 2022	151,315,000
Apr 2022	151,623,000
May 2022	151,924,000
Jun 2022	152,358,000
Jul 2022	153,072,000
Aug 2022	153,362,000
Sep 2022	153,582,000
Oct 2022	153,939,000
Nov 2022	154,242,000
Dec 2022	154,342,000
Jan 2023	154,776,000
Feb 2023	155,066,000
Mar 2023	155,134,000
Apr 2023	155,375,000
May 2023	155,655,000
Jun 2023	155,880,000
Jul 2023	156,043,000
Aug 2023	156,261,000
Sep 2023	156,417,000
Oct 2023	156,576,000
Nov 2023	156,703,000
Dec 2023	156,857,000
Jan 2024	157,032,000
Feb 2024	157,238,000
Mar 2024	157,466,000
Apr 2024	157,530,000
May 2024	157,608,000
Jun 2024	157,695,000
Jul 2024	157,748,000
Aug 2024	157,757,000
Sep 2024	157,912,000
Oct 2024	157,945,000
Nov 2024	158,079,000
Dec 2024	158,316,000
Jan 2025	158,268,000
Feb 2025	158,310,000
Mar 2025	158,377,000
Apr 2025	158,485,000
May 2025	158,498,000
Jun 2025	158,478,000
Jul 2025	158,542,000
Aug 2025	158,472,000
Sep 2025	158,548,000
Oct 2025	158,408,000
Nov 2025	158,449,000
Dec 2025	158,432,000
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Although some employment weakness can be attributed to a substantial loss of federal government jobs, the private labor market also slowed in 2025. Excluding federal, state, and local government, the private sector added 296,000 jobs in 2025. (See chart 2.) This growth was the smallest nonrecession job growth since 2003, when U.S. private employers added 166,000 jobs. The 12-month total private diffusion index was 46.0 in December 2025, indicating that more industries lost jobs during the year than added jobs.²

Chart 2. Over-the-month change in total private employment, seasonally adjusted, from January 2023 to December 2025
Date	Over-the-month change	Annual average
Jan 2023	315,000	149,100
Feb 2023	236,000	149,100
Mar 2023	26,000	149,100
Apr 2023	179,000	149,100
May 2023	200,000	149,100
Jun 2023	155,000	149,100
Jul 2023	118,000	149,100
Aug 2023	148,000	149,100
Sep 2023	115,000	149,100
Oct 2023	114,000	149,100
Nov 2023	84,000	149,100
Dec 2023	99,000	149,100
Jan 2024	126,000	85,100
Feb 2024	135,000	85,100
Mar 2024	143,000	85,100
Apr 2024	63,000	85,100
May 2024	45,000	85,100
Jun 2024	78,000	85,100
Jul 2024	-8,000	85,100
Aug 2024	-27,000	85,100
Sep 2024	142,000	85,100
Oct 2024	-4,000	85,100
Nov 2024	116,000	85,100
Dec 2024	212,000	85,100
Jan 2025	-76,000	24,700
Feb 2025	40,000	24,700
Mar 2025	67,000	24,700
Apr 2025	99,000	24,700
May 2025	20,000	24,700
Jun 2025	-45,000	24,700
Jul 2025	65,000	24,700
Aug 2025	-20,000	24,700
Sep 2025	68,000	24,700
Oct 2025	13,000	24,700
Nov 2025	72,000	24,700
Dec 2025	-7,000	24,700
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job growth slowed in almost every major industry sector in 2025. (See chart 3.) Construction, transportation and warehousing, and government added jobs in 2024, but in 2025, construction employment was flat, and transportation and warehousing and government lost jobs. Professional and business services experienced deeper job losses in 2025 than in 2024.

Chart 3. Over-the-year change in total nonfarm employment, by industry, seasonally adjusted 2024 and 2025
Industry	2024	2025
Mining and logging	-16,000	-18,000
Construction	176,000	-4,000
Manufacturing	-179,000	-113,000
Wholesale trade	-40,700	-49,600
Retail trade	-90,800	-46,600
Transportation and warehousing	102,600	-107,800
Utilities	11,100	8,600
Information	-68,000	-53,000
Financial activities	3,000	7,000
Professional and business services	-111,000	-160,000
Private education and health services	1,010,000	682,000
Leisure and hospitality	158,000	99,000
Other services	66,000	51,000
Government	438,000	-180,000
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In contrast, two major industry sectors saw improvement in employment trends. In 2025, manufacturing had less severe job losses than in 2024. Retail trade trended down in 2025 after losing jobs in 2024. Employment changes in mining and logging, wholesale trade, utilities, information, and financial activities were in line with 2024 changes.

In 2025, private education and health services exhibited the strongest job growth of any major industry sector (+682,000). If this sector’s employment gains were removed from the over-the-year change in total nonfarm payrolls, the U.S. economy would have lost more than half a million jobs in 2025.

Amid economic uncertainty, the United States both added and reduced tariffs on goods and countries throughout 2025.³ Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 2.0 percent over the year, slightly below the 2.6-percent increase in 2024.⁴ In the first quarter, GDP rose by just 0.1 percent because of an increase in imports and a decrease in government spending.⁵ GDP growth was stronger for the next two quarters as consumer spending remained strong and imports decreased, but the fourth quarter saw another small increase of only 0.2 percent.

Industry sectors that gained jobs in 2025

Job growth in 2025 was concentrated in a few sectors. This section discusses two industries that added jobs—private education and health services and other services—as well as employment in leisure and hospitality, which trended up.

Private education and health services

Within the private education and health services sector, health care and social assistance added 686,000 jobs in 2025, compared with 883,000 in 2024. (See chart 4.) The 2025 job growth was split between health care (+387,000) and social assistance (+299,000). Because health care and social assistance employment is correlated with the population’s average age and health needs, the industry has historically been a consistent engine for adding jobs, even when employment growth slows for other industries.⁶

Chart 4. Employment in health care and social assistance, seasonally adjusted, from January 2015 to December 2025
Date	Employment
Jan 2015	18,305,000
Feb 2015	18,337,400
Mar 2015	18,375,100
Apr 2015	18,451,200
May 2015	18,502,500
Jun 2015	18,545,800
Jul 2015	18,580,700
Aug 2015	18,619,600
Sep 2015	18,666,700
Oct 2015	18,721,800
Nov 2015	18,759,400
Dec 2015	18,795,600
Jan 2016	18,838,100
Feb 2016	18,880,200
Mar 2016	18,911,900
Apr 2016	18,951,000
May 2016	18,997,700
Jun 2016	19,046,100
Jul 2016	19,100,300
Aug 2016	19,145,200
Sep 2016	19,189,900
Oct 2016	19,219,600
Nov 2016	19,254,300
Dec 2016	19,309,900
Jan 2017	19,330,200
Feb 2017	19,371,200
Mar 2017	19,390,600
Apr 2017	19,443,300
May 2017	19,470,500
Jun 2017	19,521,100
Jul 2017	19,569,100
Aug 2017	19,589,000
Sep 2017	19,603,400
Oct 2017	19,623,300
Nov 2017	19,655,800
Dec 2017	19,682,600
Jan 2018	19,731,900
Feb 2018	19,785,200
Mar 2018	19,815,700
Apr 2018	19,839,200
May 2018	19,875,100
Jun 2018	19,891,700
Jul 2018	19,916,200
Aug 2018	19,962,300
Sep 2018	19,990,500
Oct 2018	20,039,200
Nov 2018	20,065,100
Dec 2018	20,132,600
Jan 2019	20,164,700
Feb 2019	20,200,700
Mar 2019	20,263,200
Apr 2019	20,320,200
May 2019	20,352,500
Jun 2019	20,392,700
Jul 2019	20,428,100
Aug 2019	20,489,900
Sep 2019	20,532,400
Oct 2019	20,578,300
Nov 2019	20,639,600
Dec 2019	20,675,500
Jan 2020	20,724,700
Feb 2020	20,771,000
Mar 2020	20,655,700
Apr 2020	18,485,000
May 2020	18,864,300
Jun 2020	19,344,500
Jul 2020	19,525,400
Aug 2020	19,653,200
Sep 2020	19,766,300
Oct 2020	19,853,300
Nov 2020	19,909,200
Dec 2020	19,966,800
Jan 2021	19,903,600
Feb 2021	19,942,800
Mar 2021	20,023,500
Apr 2021	20,066,000
May 2021	20,075,600
Jun 2021	20,069,800
Jul 2021	20,077,800
Aug 2021	20,076,500
Sep 2021	20,083,800
Oct 2021	20,119,100
Nov 2021	20,149,500
Dec 2021	20,183,400
Jan 2022	20,160,200
Feb 2022	20,256,300
Mar 2022	20,316,500
Apr 2022	20,380,800
May 2022	20,434,500
Jun 2022	20,513,300
Jul 2022	20,616,700
Aug 2022	20,684,800
Sep 2022	20,766,300
Oct 2022	20,855,000
Nov 2022	20,931,100
Dec 2022	21,017,700
Jan 2023	21,103,600
Feb 2023	21,170,100
Mar 2023	21,240,900
Apr 2023	21,309,400
May 2023	21,382,400
Jun 2023	21,464,200
Jul 2023	21,576,600
Aug 2023	21,676,700
Sep 2023	21,761,700
Oct 2023	21,839,200
Nov 2023	21,945,400
Dec 2023	22,018,700
Jan 2024	22,095,600
Feb 2024	22,191,200
Mar 2024	22,276,600
Apr 2024	22,359,200
May 2024	22,424,600
Jun 2024	22,493,700
Jul 2024	22,541,900
Aug 2024	22,586,700
Sep 2024	22,673,600
Oct 2024	22,754,800
Nov 2024	22,831,600
Dec 2024	22,901,400
Jan 2025	22,960,400
Feb 2025	23,008,300
Mar 2025	23,076,000
Apr 2025	23,152,000
May 2025	23,217,000
Jun 2025	23,277,500
Jul 2025	23,360,100
Aug 2025	23,382,900
Sep 2025	23,438,200
Oct 2025	23,485,800
Nov 2025	23,545,700
Dec 2025	23,587,500
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Over the year, ambulatory health care services employment increased by 167,000, concentrated in offices of physicians (+62,000) and in offices of other health practitioners (+39,000), which includes offices of chiropractors, optometrists, mental health practitioners, and speech therapists. Hospitals gained 137,000 jobs, and nursing and residential care facilities added 83,000 jobs.

Social assistance added 299,000 jobs in 2025, compared with 250,000 in 2024. Within this industry, most of the employment growth over the year came from services for the elderly and persons with disabilities (+281,000).

Private educational services changed little in 2025. Gains in private elementary and secondary schools (+36,000) were offset by losses of a similar magnitude in private junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools (–34,000).

Leisure and hospitality

Employment in leisure and hospitality trended up by 99,000 in 2025, lower than the increase of 158,000 in 2024. (See chart 5.) Job growth within the industry sector was concentrated in food services and drinking places (+78,000), which is a component of accommodation and food services. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that retail sales at food services and drinking places rose 4.9 percent in 2025.⁷ Despite the stronger sales, the current situation component of the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index contracted for the last 6 months of the year.⁸

Chart 5. Employment in food services and drinking places, seasonally adjusted, from January 2015 to December 2025
Date	Employment
Jan 2015	10,874,100
Feb 2015	10,924,400
Mar 2015	10,930,100
Apr 2015	10,965,500
May 2015	10,999,800
Jun 2015	11,037,700
Jul 2015	11,084,500
Aug 2015	11,110,800
Sep 2015	11,156,600
Oct 2015	11,201,100
Nov 2015	11,237,400
Dec 2015	11,271,300
Jan 2016	11,318,600
Feb 2016	11,337,100
Mar 2016	11,364,100
Apr 2016	11,379,800
May 2016	11,404,400
Jun 2016	11,430,100
Jul 2016	11,442,200
Aug 2016	11,479,800
Sep 2016	11,544,100
Oct 2016	11,539,800
Nov 2016	11,554,800
Dec 2016	11,577,300
Jan 2017	11,600,300
Feb 2017	11,630,000
Mar 2017	11,656,400
Apr 2017	11,685,200
May 2017	11,706,000
Jun 2017	11,725,100
Jul 2017	11,762,600
Aug 2017	11,780,300
Sep 2017	11,784,900
Oct 2017	11,769,600
Nov 2017	11,794,400
Dec 2017	11,816,400
Jan 2018	11,827,900
Feb 2018	11,846,800
Mar 2018	11,845,100
Apr 2018	11,844,100
May 2018	11,857,000
Jun 2018	11,882,300
Jul 2018	11,894,000
Aug 2018	11,896,600
Sep 2018	11,887,700
Oct 2018	11,903,500
Nov 2018	11,922,600
Dec 2018	11,968,100
Jan 2019	12,002,900
Feb 2019	11,999,400
Mar 2019	12,000,400
Apr 2019	12,026,100
May 2019	12,003,300
Jun 2019	11,999,000
Jul 2019	12,006,000
Aug 2019	12,074,700
Sep 2019	12,138,900
Oct 2019	12,182,100
Nov 2019	12,206,800
Dec 2019	12,217,900
Jan 2020	12,218,500
Feb 2020	12,285,000
Mar 2020	11,695,000
Apr 2020	6,317,300
May 2020	7,701,700
Jun 2020	9,117,900
Jul 2020	9,636,600
Aug 2020	9,757,200
Sep 2020	10,007,800
Oct 2020	10,196,100
Nov 2020	10,108,600
Dec 2020	9,741,300
Jan 2021	9,755,000
Feb 2021	10,048,500
Mar 2021	10,132,400
Apr 2021	10,288,200
May 2021	10,453,100
Jun 2021	10,663,500
Jul 2021	10,957,400
Aug 2021	10,997,500
Sep 2021	11,056,000
Oct 2021	11,200,900
Nov 2021	11,272,100
Dec 2021	11,379,100
Jan 2022	11,445,100
Feb 2022	11,527,200
Mar 2022	11,543,100
Apr 2022	11,580,900
May 2022	11,621,500
Jun 2022	11,705,500
Jul 2022	11,810,500
Aug 2022	11,860,100
Sep 2022	11,895,700
Oct 2022	11,950,300
Nov 2022	11,979,100
Dec 2022	11,986,600
Jan 2023	12,062,600
Feb 2023	12,096,600
Mar 2023	12,107,500
Apr 2023	12,116,100
May 2023	12,140,800
Jun 2023	12,166,500
Jul 2023	12,195,100
Aug 2023	12,221,400
Sep 2023	12,221,700
Oct 2023	12,223,700
Nov 2023	12,227,400
Dec 2023	12,209,900
Jan 2024	12,196,600
Feb 2024	12,219,500
Mar 2024	12,239,000
Apr 2024	12,220,700
May 2024	12,190,700
Jun 2024	12,202,900
Jul 2024	12,208,200
Aug 2024	12,204,100
Sep 2024	12,229,900
Oct 2024	12,235,300
Nov 2024	12,238,400
Dec 2024	12,265,300
Jan 2025	12,236,200
Feb 2025	12,198,000
Mar 2025	12,208,400
Apr 2025	12,221,900
May 2025	12,217,500
Jun 2025	12,218,700
Jul 2025	12,224,000
Aug 2025	12,245,000
Sep 2025	12,283,900
Oct 2025	12,326,500
Nov 2025	12,348,100
Dec 2025	12,343,300
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Other services

After adding 66,000 jobs in 2024, other services added 51,000 jobs in 2025. Within other services, employment trended up in religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations (+24,000) and in personal and laundry services (+15,000). (See chart 6.)

Chart 6. Over-the-month change in other services employment, seasonally adjusted, from January 2023 to December 2025
Date	Over-the-month change	Annual average
Jan 2023	14,000	11,300
Feb 2023	0	11,300
Mar 2023	4,000	11,300
Apr 2023	9,000	11,300
May 2023	16,000	11,300
Jun 2023	17,000	11,300
Jul 2023	15,000	11,300
Aug 2023	28,000	11,300
Sep 2023	9,000	11,300
Oct 2023	10,000	11,300
Nov 2023	12,000	11,300
Dec 2023	1,000	11,300
Jan 2024	11,000	5,500
Feb 2024	13,000	5,500
Mar 2024	13,000	5,500
Apr 2024	4,000	5,500
May 2024	2,000	5,500
Jun 2024	13,000	5,500
Jul 2024	-1,000	5,500
Aug 2024	-4,000	5,500
Sep 2024	2,000	5,500
Oct 2024	3,000	5,500
Nov 2024	6,000	5,500
Dec 2024	4,000	5,500
Jan 2025	3,000	4,300
Feb 2025	2,000	4,300
Mar 2025	10,000	4,300
Apr 2025	0	4,300
May 2025	7,000	4,300
Jun 2025	-10,000	4,300
Jul 2025	5,000	4,300
Aug 2025	19,000	4,300
Sep 2025	-3,000	4,300
Oct 2025	-6,000	4,300
Nov 2025	16,000	4,300
Dec 2025	8,000	4,300
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Industry sectors that lost jobs in 2025

Several major industry sectors sustained substantial job losses in 2025. This section describes job losses in government, professional and business services, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, information, wholesale trade, and mining and logging, as well as retail trade employment, which trended down over the year.

Government

In 2025, government lost 180,000 jobs, compared with gains of 438,000 in 2024. Employment in local government increased over the year by 146,000. (See chart 7.) Within the industry, local government, excluding education, gained 88,000 jobs, and employment in local government education trended up by 58,000.

Chart 7. Employment in local government components, seasonally adjusted, from January 2015 to December 2025
Date	Local government education	Local government, excluding education
Jan 2015	7,854,100	6,295,800
Feb 2015	7,864,300	6,296,100
Mar 2015	7,852,600	6,302,000
Apr 2015	7,863,400	6,308,800
May 2015	7,870,200	6,314,400
Jun 2015	7,872,800	6,315,600
Jul 2015	7,896,400	6,324,600
Aug 2015	7,892,500	6,330,700
Sep 2015	7,849,400	6,348,900
Oct 2015	7,867,500	6,345,100
Nov 2015	7,875,900	6,349,400
Dec 2015	7,875,400	6,357,300
Jan 2016	7,878,700	6,374,200
Feb 2016	7,886,300	6,388,200
Mar 2016	7,904,500	6,398,500
Apr 2016	7,903,600	6,398,300
May 2016	7,913,600	6,401,100
Jun 2016	7,867,800	6,407,700
Jul 2016	7,962,400	6,412,000
Aug 2016	7,942,700	6,422,800
Sep 2016	7,938,500	6,428,300
Oct 2016	7,919,100	6,439,600
Nov 2016	7,899,800	6,443,700
Dec 2016	7,910,500	6,439,000
Jan 2017	7,919,300	6,428,100
Feb 2017	7,921,500	6,432,400
Mar 2017	7,923,700	6,432,500
Apr 2017	7,922,100	6,446,200
May 2017	7,923,600	6,434,000
Jun 2017	7,922,500	6,458,400
Jul 2017	7,917,700	6,472,100
Aug 2017	7,871,400	6,467,100
Sep 2017	7,915,300	6,474,800
Oct 2017	7,931,400	6,475,900
Nov 2017	7,939,500	6,487,100
Dec 2017	7,941,700	6,488,800
Jan 2018	7,929,400	6,498,500
Feb 2018	7,967,000	6,505,900
Mar 2018	7,965,900	6,505,400
Apr 2018	7,961,400	6,505,600
May 2018	7,971,300	6,510,500
Jun 2018	7,990,000	6,515,200
Jul 2018	7,945,500	6,516,500
Aug 2018	7,974,200	6,519,200
Sep 2018	7,966,100	6,519,600
Oct 2018	7,964,900	6,525,900
Nov 2018	7,965,400	6,533,800
Dec 2018	7,983,000	6,543,500
Jan 2019	7,986,400	6,540,800
Feb 2019	7,991,000	6,541,700
Mar 2019	8,015,500	6,551,100
Apr 2019	8,032,300	6,567,800
May 2019	8,009,600	6,573,100
Jun 2019	7,983,000	6,618,300
Jul 2019	7,964,000	6,588,100
Aug 2019	7,980,600	6,577,100
Sep 2019	7,997,900	6,583,900
Oct 2019	8,011,300	6,582,200
Nov 2019	8,028,900	6,589,800
Dec 2019	8,033,400	6,604,700
Jan 2020	8,039,600	6,624,500
Feb 2020	8,055,600	6,635,900
Mar 2020	8,049,700	6,638,700
Apr 2020	7,627,000	6,294,400
May 2020	7,328,000	6,129,500
Jun 2020	7,342,000	6,118,300
Jul 2020	7,385,300	6,140,600
Aug 2020	7,527,100	6,197,200
Sep 2020	7,419,300	6,295,700
Oct 2020	7,396,300	6,353,700
Nov 2020	7,379,900	6,337,400
Dec 2020	7,377,400	6,320,600
Jan 2021	7,419,700	6,295,500
Feb 2021	7,422,400	6,295,700
Mar 2021	7,458,100	6,314,900
Apr 2021	7,487,800	6,331,600
May 2021	7,526,000	6,338,900
Jun 2021	7,634,500	6,312,800
Jul 2021	7,661,400	6,305,500
Aug 2021	7,763,000	6,331,700
Sep 2021	7,717,000	6,361,300
Oct 2021	7,665,400	6,351,600
Nov 2021	7,686,800	6,345,900
Dec 2021	7,706,000	6,353,300
Jan 2022	7,725,900	6,355,300
Feb 2022	7,730,200	6,358,800
Mar 2022	7,745,400	6,368,400
Apr 2022	7,756,500	6,378,800
May 2022	7,767,200	6,395,900
Jun 2022	7,778,400	6,404,000
Jul 2022	7,892,400	6,414,500
Aug 2022	7,862,100	6,438,700
Sep 2022	7,845,700	6,437,700
Oct 2022	7,829,600	6,453,000
Nov 2022	7,869,900	6,469,300
Dec 2022	7,875,400	6,482,600
Jan 2023	7,906,900	6,497,600
Feb 2023	7,927,900	6,504,600
Mar 2023	7,934,600	6,520,100
Apr 2023	7,939,800	6,545,800
May 2023	7,958,200	6,570,400
Jun 2023	7,969,800	6,602,000
Jul 2023	7,994,300	6,614,200
Aug 2023	8,021,300	6,619,300
Sep 2023	8,030,400	6,629,700
Oct 2023	8,038,000	6,638,400
Nov 2023	8,059,800	6,652,800
Dec 2023	8,079,000	6,676,300
Jan 2024	8,082,100	6,698,600
Feb 2024	8,098,600	6,727,300
Mar 2024	8,130,200	6,764,200
Apr 2024	8,123,000	6,761,200
May 2024	8,126,700	6,781,900
Jun 2024	8,106,200	6,804,700
Jul 2024	8,140,400	6,809,900
Aug 2024	8,146,000	6,811,100
Sep 2024	8,148,400	6,809,600
Oct 2024	8,160,200	6,821,200
Nov 2024	8,165,200	6,827,900
Dec 2024	8,173,500	6,831,500
Jan 2025	8,183,500	6,838,600
Feb 2025	8,191,400	6,845,300
Mar 2025	8,198,800	6,849,100
Apr 2025	8,203,900	6,865,900
May 2025	8,207,900	6,886,500
Jun 2025	8,219,800	6,906,500
Jul 2025	8,224,400	6,921,600
Aug 2025	8,227,000	6,905,300
Sep 2025	8,234,000	6,898,400
Oct 2025	8,239,600	6,909,700
Nov 2025	8,237,600	6,907,000
Dec 2025	8,231,800	6,919,300
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

State government employment edged down over the year. Employment in state government education declined by 42,000, and employment in state government, excluding education, changed little (+3,000). The drop in state education employment mirrors the loss in private-sector junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools. (See chart 8.) Both public and private colleges faced decreased funding and enrollment in 2025, and these factors may have contributed to declining employment in these industries.⁹

Chart 8. Index of employment in state government education and private junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools, seasonally adjusted, from January 2015 to December 2025
Date	Index of private junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools	Index of state government education
Jan 2015	96.988	90.159
Feb 2015	97.020	90.385
Mar 2015	97.102	90.170
Apr 2015	96.944	90.219
May 2015	96.739	90.196
Jun 2015	96.603	90.321
Jul 2015	96.603	90.313
Aug 2015	96.072	90.524
Sep 2015	96.858	90.720
Oct 2015	97.741	90.754
Nov 2015	97.974	90.920
Dec 2015	98.618	90.890
Jan 2016	97.372	91.011
Feb 2016	97.898	90.841
Mar 2016	98.223	90.928
Apr 2016	98.364	90.999
May 2016	98.640	90.882
Jun 2016	98.884	91.493
Jul 2016	98.667	91.712
Aug 2016	97.979	91.648
Sep 2016	98.792	92.967
Oct 2016	99.258	92.235
Nov 2016	99.236	92.322
Dec 2016	99.252	92.601
Jan 2017	99.225	93.140
Feb 2017	99.946	93.208
Mar 2017	99.881	93.276
Apr 2017	100.141	93.611
May 2017	100.157	94.177
Jun 2017	99.886	93.845
Jul 2017	100.574	93.879
Aug 2017	101.300	93.427
Sep 2017	101.262	92.635
Oct 2017	100.271	92.933
Nov 2017	100.498	93.268
Dec 2017	100.574	93.140
Jan 2018	100.591	93.483
Feb 2018	100.661	93.547
Mar 2018	100.607	93.743
Apr 2018	100.461	93.687
May 2018	100.293	93.476
Jun 2018	100.542	93.566
Jul 2018	100.406	93.502
Aug 2018	100.406	93.615
Sep 2018	100.141	93.999
Oct 2018	99.962	94.116
Nov 2018	99.550	93.438
Dec 2018	99.594	93.958
Jan 2019	99.534	93.721
Feb 2019	99.166	94.045
Mar 2019	99.063	94.448
Apr 2019	99.561	94.587
May 2019	99.225	92.967
Jun 2019	98.900	93.585
Jul 2019	98.900	94.226
Aug 2019	98.640	94.953
Sep 2019	98.922	95.145
Oct 2019	99.057	95.763
Nov 2019	98.954	96.137
Dec 2019	98.873	96.253
Jan 2020	100.282	96.472
Feb 2020	100.330	98.112
Mar 2020	97.297	96.302
Apr 2020	90.129	90.913
May 2020	90.394	89.145
Jun 2020	91.987	89.684
Jul 2020	92.079	89.948
Aug 2020	94.512	91.387
Sep 2020	91.971	90.147
Oct 2020	91.624	89.499
Nov 2020	91.516	89.578
Dec 2020	88.829	89.872
Jan 2021	91.413	92.122
Feb 2021	92.448	92.609
Mar 2021	93.959	93.886
Apr 2021	93.715	93.702
May 2021	94.301	93.747
Jun 2021	94.799	94.712
Jul 2021	94.956	94.456
Aug 2021	95.373	93.777
Sep 2021	94.750	93.182
Oct 2021	96.668	93.204
Nov 2021	96.668	93.053
Dec 2021	96.354	93.125
Jan 2022	95.742	92.205
Feb 2022	96.679	91.531
Mar 2022	96.744	90.905
Apr 2022	96.392	91.335
May 2022	95.899	92.262
Jun 2022	95.807	92.575
Jul 2022	95.747	93.396
Aug 2022	95.476	93.536
Sep 2022	95.525	93.581
Oct 2022	95.390	93.182
Nov 2022	95.335	93.819
Dec 2022	93.065	92.578
Jan 2023	93.439	94.806
Feb 2023	93.873	95.277
Mar 2023	93.715	95.432
Apr 2023	94.073	95.812
May 2023	94.750	96.563
Jun 2023	94.945	96.781
Jul 2023	94.940	96.547
Aug 2023	95.590	96.868
Sep 2023	96.094	97.241
Oct 2023	96.413	97.667
Nov 2023	96.592	97.516
Dec 2023	96.695	97.505
Jan 2024	97.492	97.682
Feb 2024	96.944	98.014
Mar 2024	96.993	98.002
Apr 2024	96.831	98.240
May 2024	96.728	97.942
Jun 2024	97.540	97.588
Jul 2024	97.887	97.983
Aug 2024	98.407	98.703
Sep 2024	99.328	98.967
Oct 2024	99.171	99.137
Nov 2024	99.523	99.337
Dec 2024	99.691	99.661
Jan 2025	100.000	100.000
Feb 2025	99.989	99.845
Mar 2025	99.935	99.796
Apr 2025	100.206	99.714
May 2025	99.827	99.367
Jun 2025	99.691	99.423
Jul 2025	99.724	99.005
Aug 2025	99.507	98.526
Sep 2025	99.090	98.798
Oct 2025	98.543	98.843
Nov 2025	97.898	98.217
Dec 2025	97.849	98.097
Note: January 2025 = 100. Source: U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The largest decline in government occurred in federal employment, which is the smallest component of the sector. The federal government lost 287,000 jobs in 2025, the largest annual decline since 1946, when the country was winding down from World War II.¹⁰ (See chart 9.)

Chart 9. Employment in federal government, seasonally adjusted, from January 1939 to December 2025
Date	Employment
Jan 1939	912,000
Feb 1939	925,000
Mar 1939	929,000
Apr 1939	933,000
May 1939	941,000
Jun 1939	948,000
Jul 1939	954,000
Aug 1939	962,000
Sep 1939	970,000
Oct 1939	968,000
Nov 1939	975,000
Dec 1939	977,000
Jan 1940	980,000
Feb 1940	984,000
Mar 1940	993,000
Apr 1940	997,000
May 1940	1,007,000
Jun 1940	1,020,000
Jul 1940	1,037,000
Aug 1940	1,051,000
Sep 1940	1,072,000
Oct 1940	1,106,000
Nov 1940	1,139,000
Dec 1940	1,149,000
Jan 1941	1,201,000
Feb 1941	1,225,000
Mar 1941	1,247,000
Apr 1941	1,290,000
May 1941	1,335,000
Jun 1941	1,381,000
Jul 1941	1,418,000
Aug 1941	1,472,000
Sep 1941	1,529,000
Oct 1941	1,557,000
Nov 1941	1,601,000
Dec 1941	1,606,000
Jan 1942	1,756,000
Feb 1942	1,834,000
Mar 1942	1,949,000
Apr 1942	2,053,000
May 1942	2,134,000
Jun 1942	2,205,000
Jul 1942	2,332,000
Aug 1942	2,583,000
Sep 1942	2,630,000
Oct 1942	2,734,000
Nov 1942	2,825,000
Dec 1942	2,799,000
Jan 1943	2,956,000
Feb 1943	3,027,000
Mar 1943	3,055,000
Apr 1943	3,062,000
May 1943	3,082,000
Jun 1943	3,128,000
Jul 1943	3,106,000
Aug 1943	3,025,000
Sep 1943	3,016,000
Oct 1943	3,025,000
Nov 1943	3,050,000
Dec 1943	3,045,000
Jan 1944	3,041,000
Feb 1944	3,030,000
Mar 1944	3,021,000
Apr 1944	3,022,000
May 1944	3,028,000
Jun 1944	3,043,000
Jul 1944	3,070,000
Aug 1944	3,095,000
Sep 1944	3,107,000
Oct 1944	3,122,000
Nov 1944	3,144,000
Dec 1944	3,138,000
Jan 1945	3,134,000
Feb 1945	3,134,000
Mar 1945	3,120,000
Apr 1945	3,092,000
May 1945	3,065,000
Jun 1945	3,066,000
Jul 1945	3,053,000
Aug 1945	2,992,000
Sep 1945	2,786,000
Oct 1945	2,691,000
Nov 1945	2,652,000
Dec 1945	2,566,000
Jan 1946	2,564,000
Feb 1946	2,527,000
Mar 1946	2,488,000
Apr 1946	2,477,000
May 1946	2,432,000
Jun 1946	2,370,000
Jul 1946	2,353,000
Aug 1946	2,319,000
Sep 1946	2,267,000
Oct 1946	2,234,000
Nov 1946	2,177,000
Dec 1946	2,163,000
Jan 1947	2,143,000
Feb 1947	2,110,000
Mar 1947	2,077,000
Apr 1947	2,035,000
May 1947	2,002,000
Jun 1947	1,946,000
Jul 1947	1,909,000
Aug 1947	1,896,000
Sep 1947	1,901,000
Oct 1947	1,912,000
Nov 1947	1,916,000
Dec 1947	1,948,000
Jan 1948	1,889,000
Feb 1948	1,884,000
Mar 1948	1,884,000
Apr 1948	1,889,000
May 1948	1,901,000
Jun 1948	1,942,000
Jul 1948	1,964,000
Aug 1948	1,981,000
Sep 1948	1,998,000
Oct 1948	2,011,000
Nov 1948	2,029,000
Dec 1948	2,049,000
Jan 1949	2,025,000
Feb 1949	2,008,000
Mar 1949	2,004,000
Apr 1949	2,011,000
May 1949	2,027,000
Jun 1949	2,025,000
Jul 1949	2,027,000
Aug 1949	2,011,000
Sep 1949	1,991,000
Oct 1949	1,957,000
Nov 1949	1,943,000
Dec 1949	1,974,000
Jan 1950	1,921,000
Feb 1950	1,903,000
Mar 1950	2,038,000
Apr 1950	2,032,000
May 1950	1,951,000
Jun 1950	1,914,000
Jul 1950	1,947,000
Aug 1950	2,019,000
Sep 1950	2,067,000
Oct 1950	2,113,000
Nov 1950	2,147,000
Dec 1950	2,190,000
Jan 1951	2,225,000
Feb 1951	2,273,000
Mar 1951	2,315,000
Apr 1951	2,357,000
May 1951	2,403,000
Jun 1951	2,436,000
Jul 1951	2,466,000
Aug 1951	2,473,000
Sep 1951	2,478,000
Oct 1951	2,493,000
Nov 1951	2,505,000
Dec 1951	2,532,000
Jan 1952	2,518,000
Feb 1952	2,513,000
Mar 1952	2,515,000
Apr 1952	2,522,000
May 1952	2,533,000
Jun 1952	2,548,000
Jul 1952	2,556,000
Aug 1952	2,547,000
Sep 1952	2,543,000
Oct 1952	2,543,000
Nov 1952	2,534,000
Dec 1952	2,582,000
Jan 1953	2,526,000
Feb 1953	2,509,000
Mar 1953	2,486,000
Apr 1953	2,466,000
May 1953	2,446,000
Jun 1953	2,428,000
Jul 1953	2,406,000
Aug 1953	2,388,000
Sep 1953	2,374,000
Oct 1953	2,350,000
Nov 1953	2,339,000
Dec 1953	2,310,000
Jan 1954	2,329,000
Feb 1954	2,313,000
Mar 1954	2,309,000
Apr 1954	2,301,000
May 1954	2,295,000
Jun 1954	2,282,000
Jul 1954	2,278,000
Aug 1954	2,277,000
Sep 1954	2,277,000
Oct 1954	2,283,000
Nov 1954	2,295,000
Dec 1954	2,296,000
Jan 1955	2,283,000
Feb 1955	2,281,000
Mar 1955	2,285,000
Apr 1955	2,289,000
May 1955	2,293,000
Jun 1955	2,302,000
Jul 1955	2,302,000
Aug 1955	2,306,000
Sep 1955	2,306,000
Oct 1955	2,307,000
Nov 1955	2,298,000
Dec 1955	2,283,000
Jan 1956	2,301,000
Feb 1956	2,302,000
Mar 1956	2,302,000
Apr 1956	2,305,000
May 1956	2,312,000
Jun 1956	2,312,000
Jul 1956	2,319,000
Aug 1956	2,322,000
Sep 1956	2,329,000
Oct 1956	2,339,000
Nov 1956	2,333,000
Dec 1956	2,335,000
Jan 1957	2,345,000
Feb 1957	2,346,000
Mar 1957	2,347,000
Apr 1957	2,344,000
May 1957	2,340,000
Jun 1957	2,328,000
Jul 1957	2,328,000
Aug 1957	2,323,000
Sep 1957	2,311,000
Oct 1957	2,293,000
Nov 1957	2,274,000
Dec 1957	2,331,000
Jan 1958	2,281,000
Feb 1958	2,282,000
Mar 1958	2,281,000
Apr 1958	2,282,000
May 1958	2,285,000
Jun 1958	2,297,000
Jul 1958	2,298,000
Aug 1958	2,301,000
Sep 1958	2,306,000
Oct 1958	2,311,000
Nov 1958	2,297,000
Dec 1958	2,356,000
Jan 1959	2,339,000
Feb 1959	2,336,000
Mar 1959	2,336,000
Apr 1959	2,330,000
May 1959	2,331,000
Jun 1959	2,334,000
Jul 1959	2,333,000
Aug 1959	2,329,000
Sep 1959	2,333,000
Oct 1959	2,342,000
Nov 1959	2,353,000
Dec 1959	2,407,000
Jan 1960	2,333,000
Feb 1960	2,334,000
Mar 1960	2,523,000
Apr 1960	2,511,000
May 1960	2,387,000
Jun 1960	2,353,000
Jul 1960	2,346,000
Aug 1960	2,349,000
Sep 1960	2,351,000
Oct 1960	2,351,000
Nov 1960	2,340,000
Dec 1960	2,403,000
Jan 1961	2,356,000
Feb 1961	2,360,000
Mar 1961	2,366,000
Apr 1961	2,367,000
May 1961	2,378,000
Jun 1961	2,388,000
Jul 1961	2,397,000
Aug 1961	2,406,000
Sep 1961	2,413,000
Oct 1961	2,419,000
Nov 1961	2,418,000
Dec 1961	2,428,000
Jan 1962	2,433,000
Feb 1962	2,439,000
Mar 1962	2,443,000
Apr 1962	2,445,000
May 1962	2,454,000
Jun 1962	2,465,000
Jul 1962	2,468,000
Aug 1962	2,470,000
Sep 1962	2,470,000
Oct 1962	2,469,000
Nov 1962	2,477,000
Dec 1962	2,433,000
Jan 1963	2,480,000
Feb 1963	2,484,000
Mar 1963	2,484,000
Apr 1963	2,485,000
May 1963	2,482,000
Jun 1963	2,473,000
Jul 1963	2,470,000
Aug 1963	2,469,000
Sep 1963	2,475,000
Oct 1963	2,476,000
Nov 1963	2,470,000
Dec 1963	2,445,000
Jan 1964	2,474,000
Feb 1964	2,473,000
Mar 1964	2,472,000
Apr 1964	2,472,000
May 1964	2,473,000
Jun 1964	2,446,000
Jul 1964	2,441,000
Aug 1964	2,452,000
Sep 1964	2,454,000
Oct 1964	2,461,000
Nov 1964	2,478,000
Dec 1964	2,467,000
Jan 1965	2,473,000
Feb 1965	2,471,000
Mar 1965	2,474,000
Apr 1965	2,476,000
May 1965	2,479,000
Jun 1965	2,470,000
Jul 1965	2,486,000
Aug 1965	2,499,000
Sep 1965	2,511,000
Oct 1965	2,521,000
Nov 1965	2,533,000
Dec 1965	2,548,000
Jan 1966	2,563,000
Feb 1966	2,590,000
Mar 1966	2,616,000
Apr 1966	2,640,000
May 1966	2,663,000
Jun 1966	2,688,000
Jul 1966	2,705,000
Aug 1966	2,721,000
Sep 1966	2,742,000
Oct 1966	2,767,000
Nov 1966	2,791,000
Dec 1966	2,799,000
Jan 1967	2,814,000
Feb 1967	2,823,000
Mar 1967	2,835,000
Apr 1967	2,839,000
May 1967	2,848,000
Jun 1967	2,860,000
Jul 1967	2,866,000
Aug 1967	2,872,000
Sep 1967	2,869,000
Oct 1967	2,873,000
Nov 1967	2,872,000
Dec 1967	2,876,000
Jan 1968	2,871,000
Feb 1968	2,865,000
Mar 1968	2,859,000
Apr 1968	2,861,000
May 1968	2,861,000
Jun 1968	2,908,000
Jul 1968	2,909,000
Aug 1968	2,883,000
Sep 1968	2,868,000
Oct 1968	2,864,000
Nov 1968	2,873,000
Dec 1968	2,849,000
Jan 1969	2,910,000
Feb 1969	2,903,000
Mar 1969	2,889,000
Apr 1969	2,889,000
May 1969	2,883,000
Jun 1969	2,928,000
Jul 1969	2,909,000
Aug 1969	2,899,000
Sep 1969	2,896,000
Oct 1969	2,889,000
Nov 1969	2,876,000
Dec 1969	2,861,000
Jan 1970	2,861,000
Feb 1970	2,849,000
Mar 1970	2,921,000
Apr 1970	2,996,000
May 1970	2,919,000
Jun 1970	2,867,000
Jul 1970	2,838,000
Aug 1970	2,824,000
Sep 1970	2,829,000
Oct 1970	2,827,000
Nov 1970	2,830,000
Dec 1970	2,824,000
Jan 1971	2,823,000
Feb 1971	2,816,000
Mar 1971	2,806,000
Apr 1971	2,810,000
May 1971	2,808,000
Jun 1971	2,827,000
Jul 1971	2,837,000
Aug 1971	2,849,000
Sep 1971	2,848,000
Oct 1971	2,845,000
Nov 1971	2,839,000
Dec 1971	2,824,000
Jan 1972	2,839,000
Feb 1972	2,831,000
Mar 1972	2,823,000
Apr 1972	2,822,000
May 1972	2,817,000
Jun 1972	2,814,000
Jul 1972	2,787,000
Aug 1972	2,806,000
Sep 1972	2,807,000
Oct 1972	2,811,000
Nov 1972	2,812,000
Dec 1972	2,812,000
Jan 1973	2,805,000
Feb 1973	2,796,000
Mar 1973	2,798,000
Apr 1973	2,796,000
May 1973	2,800,000
Jun 1973	2,790,000
Jul 1973	2,761,000
Aug 1973	2,782,000
Sep 1973	2,788,000
Oct 1973	2,791,000
Nov 1973	2,801,000
Dec 1973	2,813,000
Jan 1974	2,817,000
Feb 1974	2,833,000
Mar 1974	2,838,000
Apr 1974	2,846,000
May 1974	2,853,000
Jun 1974	2,859,000
Jul 1974	2,869,000
Aug 1974	2,874,000
Sep 1974	2,876,000
Oct 1974	2,875,000
Nov 1974	2,875,000
Dec 1974	2,874,000
Jan 1975	2,873,000
Feb 1975	2,873,000
Mar 1975	2,875,000
Apr 1975	2,874,000
May 1975	2,875,000
Jun 1975	2,871,000
Jul 1975	2,885,000
Aug 1975	2,886,000
Sep 1975	2,891,000
Oct 1975	2,893,000
Nov 1975	2,893,000
Dec 1975	2,897,000
Jan 1976	2,887,000
Feb 1976	2,882,000
Mar 1976	2,876,000
Apr 1976	2,872,000
May 1976	2,866,000
Jun 1976	2,850,000
Jul 1976	2,854,000
Aug 1976	2,855,000
Sep 1976	2,855,000
Oct 1976	2,853,000
Nov 1976	2,864,000
Dec 1976	2,850,000
Jan 1977	2,851,000
Feb 1977	2,851,000
Mar 1977	2,854,000
Apr 1977	2,858,000
May 1977	2,857,000
Jun 1977	2,853,000
Jul 1977	2,852,000
Aug 1977	2,860,000
Sep 1977	2,865,000
Oct 1977	2,867,000
Nov 1977	2,872,000
Dec 1977	2,870,000
Jan 1978	2,881,000
Feb 1978	2,881,000
Mar 1978	2,879,000
Apr 1978	2,881,000
May 1978	2,881,000
Jun 1978	2,886,000
Jul 1978	2,892,000
Aug 1978	2,902,000
Sep 1978	2,908,000
Oct 1978	2,915,000
Nov 1978	2,919,000
Dec 1978	2,899,000
Jan 1979	2,916,000
Feb 1979	2,912,000
Mar 1979	2,905,000
Apr 1979	2,883,000
May 1979	2,880,000
Jun 1979	2,882,000
Jul 1979	2,884,000
Aug 1979	2,925,000
Sep 1979	2,884,000
Oct 1979	2,887,000
Nov 1979	2,886,000
Dec 1979	2,886,000
Jan 1980	2,886,000
Feb 1980	2,907,000
Mar 1980	2,960,000
Apr 1980	3,258,000
May 1980	3,088,000
Jun 1980	3,076,000
Jul 1980	3,023,000
Aug 1980	2,980,000
Sep 1980	2,936,000
Oct 1980	2,958,000
Nov 1980	2,960,000
Dec 1980	2,961,000
Jan 1981	2,961,000
Feb 1981	2,946,000
Mar 1981	2,932,000
Apr 1981	2,915,000
May 1981	2,904,000
Jun 1981	2,908,000
Jul 1981	2,912,000
Aug 1981	2,921,000
Sep 1981	2,920,000
Oct 1981	2,920,000
Nov 1981	2,913,000
Dec 1981	2,907,000
Jan 1982	2,902,000
Feb 1982	2,894,000
Mar 1982	2,890,000
Apr 1982	2,872,000
May 1982	2,855,000
Jun 1982	2,873,000
Jul 1982	2,876,000
Aug 1982	2,885,000
Sep 1982	2,876,000
Oct 1982	2,890,000
Nov 1982	2,896,000
Dec 1982	2,896,000
Jan 1983	2,921,000
Feb 1983	2,910,000
Mar 1983	2,908,000
Apr 1983	2,902,000
May 1983	2,904,000
Jun 1983	2,905,000
Jul 1983	2,908,000
Aug 1983	2,913,000
Sep 1983	2,935,000
Oct 1983	2,928,000
Nov 1983	2,920,000
Dec 1983	2,923,000
Jan 1984	2,920,000
Feb 1984	2,922,000
Mar 1984	2,926,000
Apr 1984	2,931,000
May 1984	2,937,000
Jun 1984	2,941,000
Jul 1984	2,945,000
Aug 1984	2,950,000
Sep 1984	2,955,000
Oct 1984	2,957,000
Nov 1984	2,962,000
Dec 1984	2,964,000
Jan 1985	2,964,000
Feb 1985	2,961,000
Mar 1985	2,973,000
Apr 1985	2,996,000
May 1985	3,008,000
Jun 1985	3,019,000
Jul 1985	3,029,000
Aug 1985	3,037,000
Sep 1985	3,038,000
Oct 1985	3,039,000
Nov 1985	3,046,000
Dec 1985	3,051,000
Jan 1986	3,055,000
Feb 1986	3,056,000
Mar 1986	3,055,000
Apr 1986	3,052,000
May 1986	3,043,000
Jun 1986	3,027,000
Jul 1986	3,023,000
Aug 1986	3,035,000
Sep 1986	3,043,000
Oct 1986	3,045,000
Nov 1986	3,046,000
Dec 1986	3,051,000
Jan 1987	3,060,000
Feb 1987	3,064,000
Mar 1987	3,072,000
Apr 1987	3,073,000
May 1987	3,078,000
Jun 1987	3,085,000
Jul 1987	3,089,000
Aug 1987	3,094,000
Sep 1987	3,100,000
Oct 1987	3,111,000
Nov 1987	3,122,000
Dec 1987	3,126,000
Jan 1988	3,125,000
Feb 1988	3,119,000
Mar 1988	3,113,000
Apr 1988	3,107,000
May 1988	3,100,000
Jun 1988	3,099,000
Jul 1988	3,104,000
Aug 1988	3,119,000
Sep 1988	3,141,000
Oct 1988	3,153,000
Nov 1988	3,159,000
Dec 1988	3,156,000
Jan 1989	3,158,000
Feb 1989	3,159,000
Mar 1989	3,152,000
Apr 1989	3,142,000
May 1989	3,143,000
Jun 1989	3,137,000
Jul 1989	3,135,000
Aug 1989	3,133,000
Sep 1989	3,127,000
Oct 1989	3,124,000
Nov 1989	3,121,000
Dec 1989	3,098,000
Jan 1990	3,103,000
Feb 1990	3,109,000
Mar 1990	3,194,000
Apr 1990	3,259,000
May 1990	3,435,000
Jun 1990	3,332,000
Jul 1990	3,274,000
Aug 1990	3,174,000
Sep 1990	3,136,000
Oct 1990	3,114,000
Nov 1990	3,108,000
Dec 1990	3,110,000
Jan 1991	3,098,000
Feb 1991	3,096,000
Mar 1991	3,095,000
Apr 1991	3,086,000
May 1991	3,096,000
Jun 1991	3,103,000
Jul 1991	3,133,000
Aug 1991	3,121,000
Sep 1991	3,121,000
Oct 1991	3,131,000
Nov 1991	3,128,000
Dec 1991	3,121,000
Jan 1992	3,137,000
Feb 1992	3,121,000
Mar 1992	3,121,000
Apr 1992	3,117,000
May 1992	3,119,000
Jun 1992	3,117,000
Jul 1992	3,117,000
Aug 1992	3,109,000
Sep 1992	3,107,000
Oct 1992	3,090,000
Nov 1992	3,083,000
Dec 1992	3,101,000
Jan 1993	3,092,000
Feb 1993	3,079,000
Mar 1993	3,071,000
Apr 1993	3,069,000
May 1993	3,065,000
Jun 1993	3,067,000
Jul 1993	3,071,000
Aug 1993	3,064,000
Sep 1993	3,057,000
Oct 1993	3,039,000
Nov 1993	3,036,000
Dec 1993	3,037,000
Jan 1994	3,053,000
Feb 1994	3,046,000
Mar 1994	3,043,000
Apr 1994	3,034,000
May 1994	3,027,000
Jun 1994	3,017,000
Jul 1994	3,009,000
Aug 1994	3,002,000
Sep 1994	3,002,000
Oct 1994	2,997,000
Nov 1994	2,984,000
Dec 1994	2,983,000
Jan 1995	2,973,000
Feb 1995	2,970,000
Mar 1995	2,965,000
Apr 1995	2,964,000
May 1995	2,959,000
Jun 1995	2,959,000
Jul 1995	2,949,000
Aug 1995	2,943,000
Sep 1995	2,929,000
Oct 1995	2,934,000
Nov 1995	2,913,000
Dec 1995	2,903,000
Jan 1996	2,900,000
Feb 1996	2,905,000
Mar 1996	2,900,000
Apr 1996	2,894,000
May 1996	2,887,000
Jun 1996	2,884,000
Jul 1996	2,877,000
Aug 1996	2,873,000
Sep 1996	2,866,000
Oct 1996	2,845,000
Nov 1996	2,845,000
Dec 1996	2,839,000
Jan 1997	2,845,000
Feb 1997	2,838,000
Mar 1997	2,836,000
Apr 1997	2,816,000
May 1997	2,813,000
Jun 1997	2,815,000
Jul 1997	2,778,000
Aug 1997	2,777,000
Sep 1997	2,772,000
Oct 1997	2,791,000
Nov 1997	2,796,000
Dec 1997	2,789,000
Jan 1998	2,772,000
Feb 1998	2,768,000
Mar 1998	2,762,000
Apr 1998	2,752,000
May 1998	2,762,000
Jun 1998	2,762,000
Jul 1998	2,771,000
Aug 1998	2,776,000
Sep 1998	2,772,000
Oct 1998	2,778,000
Nov 1998	2,790,000
Dec 1998	2,785,000
Jan 1999	2,765,000
Feb 1999	2,773,000
Mar 1999	2,767,000
Apr 1999	2,793,000
May 1999	2,764,000
Jun 1999	2,766,000
Jul 1999	2,765,000
Aug 1999	2,773,000
Sep 1999	2,766,000
Oct 1999	2,766,000
Nov 1999	2,767,000
Dec 1999	2,771,000
Jan 2000	2,768,000
Feb 2000	2,796,000
Mar 2000	2,884,000
Apr 2000	2,911,000
May 2000	3,244,000
Jun 2000	3,004,000
Jul 2000	2,942,000
Aug 2000	2,868,000
Sep 2000	2,745,000
Oct 2000	2,736,000
Nov 2000	2,737,000
Dec 2000	2,745,000
Jan 2001	2,753,000
Feb 2001	2,752,000
Mar 2001	2,755,000
Apr 2001	2,755,000
May 2001	2,758,000
Jun 2001	2,780,000
Jul 2001	2,783,000
Aug 2001	2,780,000
Sep 2001	2,770,000
Oct 2001	2,763,000
Nov 2001	2,759,000
Dec 2001	2,751,000
Jan 2002	2,756,000
Feb 2002	2,757,000
Mar 2002	2,755,000
Apr 2002	2,755,000
May 2002	2,768,000
Jun 2002	2,768,000
Jul 2002	2,757,000
Aug 2002	2,762,000
Sep 2002	2,768,000
Oct 2002	2,780,000
Nov 2002	2,781,000
Dec 2002	2,780,000
Jan 2003	2,789,000
Feb 2003	2,789,000
Mar 2003	2,791,000
Apr 2003	2,769,000
May 2003	2,753,000
Jun 2003	2,763,000
Jul 2003	2,760,000
Aug 2003	2,751,000
Sep 2003	2,749,000
Oct 2003	2,742,000
Nov 2003	2,728,000
Dec 2003	2,740,000
Jan 2004	2,732,000
Feb 2004	2,731,000
Mar 2004	2,731,000
Apr 2004	2,753,000
May 2004	2,730,000
Jun 2004	2,730,000
Jul 2004	2,729,000
Aug 2004	2,729,000
Sep 2004	2,729,000
Oct 2004	2,724,000
Nov 2004	2,727,000
Dec 2004	2,728,000
Jan 2005	2,727,000
Feb 2005	2,728,000
Mar 2005	2,733,000
Apr 2005	2,725,000
May 2005	2,734,000
Jun 2005	2,733,000
Jul 2005	2,728,000
Aug 2005	2,731,000
Sep 2005	2,732,000
Oct 2005	2,735,000
Nov 2005	2,739,000
Dec 2005	2,733,000
Jan 2006	2,727,000
Feb 2006	2,733,000
Mar 2006	2,733,000
Apr 2006	2,733,000
May 2006	2,734,000
Jun 2006	2,736,000
Jul 2006	2,740,000
Aug 2006	2,733,000
Sep 2006	2,732,000
Oct 2006	2,731,000
Nov 2006	2,729,000
Dec 2006	2,730,000
Jan 2007	2,731,000
Feb 2007	2,732,000
Mar 2007	2,731,000
Apr 2007	2,732,000
May 2007	2,733,000
Jun 2007	2,729,000
Jul 2007	2,727,000
Aug 2007	2,738,000
Sep 2007	2,737,000
Oct 2007	2,734,000
Nov 2007	2,744,000
Dec 2007	2,756,000
Jan 2008	2,738,000
Feb 2008	2,747,000
Mar 2008	2,752,000
Apr 2008	2,755,000
May 2008	2,757,000
Jun 2008	2,759,000
Jul 2008	2,767,000
Aug 2008	2,766,000
Sep 2008	2,768,000
Oct 2008	2,772,000
Nov 2008	2,778,000
Dec 2008	2,775,000
Jan 2009	2,786,000
Feb 2009	2,795,000
Mar 2009	2,797,000
Apr 2009	2,922,000
May 2009	2,860,000
Jun 2009	2,814,000
Jul 2009	2,826,000
Aug 2009	2,825,000
Sep 2009	2,826,000
Oct 2009	2,843,000
Nov 2009	2,842,000
Dec 2009	2,831,000
Jan 2010	2,860,000
Feb 2010	2,872,000
Mar 2010	2,923,000
Apr 2010	2,984,000
May 2010	3,416,000
Jun 2010	3,193,000
Jul 2010	3,051,000
Aug 2010	2,945,000
Sep 2010	2,869,000
Oct 2010	2,866,000
Nov 2010	2,866,000
Dec 2010	2,870,000
Jan 2011	2,874,000
Feb 2011	2,876,000
Mar 2011	2,877,000
Apr 2011	2,870,000
May 2011	2,871,000
Jun 2011	2,860,000
Jul 2011	2,862,000
Aug 2011	2,850,000
Sep 2011	2,846,000
Oct 2011	2,850,000
Nov 2011	2,842,000
Dec 2011	2,836,000
Jan 2012	2,833,000
Feb 2012	2,828,000
Mar 2012	2,828,000
Apr 2012	2,826,000
May 2012	2,823,000
Jun 2012	2,824,000
Jul 2012	2,815,000
Aug 2012	2,820,000
Sep 2012	2,822,000
Oct 2012	2,824,000
Nov 2012	2,809,000
Dec 2012	2,806,000
Jan 2013	2,806,000
Feb 2013	2,806,000
Mar 2013	2,794,000
Apr 2013	2,794,000
May 2013	2,775,000
Jun 2013	2,771,000
Jul 2013	2,761,000
Aug 2013	2,754,000
Sep 2013	2,753,000
Oct 2013	2,739,000
Nov 2013	2,746,000
Dec 2013	2,741,000
Jan 2014	2,736,000
Feb 2014	2,731,000
Mar 2014	2,728,000
Apr 2014	2,728,000
May 2014	2,728,000
Jun 2014	2,729,000
Jul 2014	2,731,000
Aug 2014	2,735,000
Sep 2014	2,735,000
Oct 2014	2,735,000
Nov 2014	2,740,000
Dec 2014	2,743,000
Jan 2015	2,745,000
Feb 2015	2,747,000
Mar 2015	2,748,000
Apr 2015	2,763,000
May 2015	2,753,000
Jun 2015	2,754,000
Jul 2015	2,756,000
Aug 2015	2,760,000
Sep 2015	2,759,000
Oct 2015	2,759,000
Nov 2015	2,766,000
Dec 2015	2,776,000
Jan 2016	2,771,000
Feb 2016	2,778,000
Mar 2016	2,783,000
Apr 2016	2,785,000
May 2016	2,792,000
Jun 2016	2,797,000
Jul 2016	2,800,000
Aug 2016	2,803,000
Sep 2016	2,806,000
Oct 2016	2,804,000
Nov 2016	2,798,000
Dec 2016	2,815,000
Jan 2017	2,813,000
Feb 2017	2,812,000
Mar 2017	2,810,000
Apr 2017	2,798,000
May 2017	2,808,000
Jun 2017	2,805,000
Jul 2017	2,806,000
Aug 2017	2,802,000
Sep 2017	2,799,000
Oct 2017	2,802,000
Nov 2017	2,791,000
Dec 2017	2,794,000
Jan 2018	2,794,000
Feb 2018	2,790,000
Mar 2018	2,792,000
Apr 2018	2,800,000
May 2018	2,793,000
Jun 2018	2,798,000
Jul 2018	2,799,000
Aug 2018	2,801,000
Sep 2018	2,805,000
Oct 2018	2,805,000
Nov 2018	2,809,000
Dec 2018	2,808,000
Jan 2019	2,808,000
Feb 2019	2,810,000
Mar 2019	2,811,000
Apr 2019	2,827,000
May 2019	2,829,000
Jun 2019	2,833,000
Jul 2019	2,829,000
Aug 2019	2,854,000
Sep 2019	2,852,000
Oct 2019	2,837,000
Nov 2019	2,842,000
Dec 2019	2,837,000
Jan 2020	2,855,000
Feb 2020	2,857,000
Mar 2020	2,876,000
Apr 2020	2,875,000
May 2020	2,876,000
Jun 2020	2,883,000
Jul 2020	2,908,000
Aug 2020	3,156,000
Sep 2020	3,123,000
Oct 2020	2,981,000
Nov 2020	2,892,000
Dec 2020	2,897,000
Jan 2021	2,884,000
Feb 2021	2,883,000
Mar 2021	2,885,000
Apr 2021	2,894,000
May 2021	2,886,000
Jun 2021	2,887,000
Jul 2021	2,892,000
Aug 2021	2,888,000
Sep 2021	2,887,000
Oct 2021	2,878,000
Nov 2021	2,889,000
Dec 2021	2,882,000
Jan 2022	2,879,000
Feb 2022	2,874,000
Mar 2022	2,867,000
Apr 2022	2,866,000
May 2022	2,862,000
Jun 2022	2,853,000
Jul 2022	2,862,000
Aug 2022	2,861,000
Sep 2022	2,865,000
Oct 2022	2,870,000
Nov 2022	2,877,000
Dec 2022	2,874,000
Jan 2023	2,880,000
Feb 2023	2,887,000
Mar 2023	2,893,000
Apr 2023	2,904,000
May 2023	2,915,000
Jun 2023	2,925,000
Jul 2023	2,930,000
Aug 2023	2,946,000
Sep 2023	2,951,000
Oct 2023	2,956,000
Nov 2023	2,960,000
Dec 2023	2,964,000
Jan 2024	2,971,000
Feb 2024	2,980,000
Mar 2024	2,989,000
Apr 2024	2,992,000
May 2024	3,001,000
Jun 2024	3,005,000
Jul 2024	3,007,000
Aug 2024	3,011,000
Sep 2024	3,012,000
Oct 2024	3,013,000
Nov 2024	3,009,000
Dec 2024	3,009,000
Jan 2025	3,010,000
Feb 2025	2,997,000
Mar 2025	2,988,000
Apr 2025	2,976,000
May 2025	2,952,000
Jun 2025	2,944,000
Jul 2025	2,935,000
Aug 2025	2,916,000
Sep 2025	2,914,000
Oct 2025	2,748,000
Nov 2025	2,733,000
Dec 2025	2,722,000
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Federal government job losses in 2025 came in spurts, as the sector shed 96,000 jobs from January to September. Early in the year, most federal employees were offered enrollment in the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), in which they would cease government work activities but receive pay until the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2025, or later under certain conditions.¹¹ Workers on paid leave (including administrative leave or individuals receiving severance pay if paid over multiple periods) who did not work during the reference period are defined as employed because they were paid for the reference period; so, those who enrolled in the DRP were considered employed through September (or whenever they stopped receiving pay). In October, most DRP participants fell off payrolls, contributing to a sharp employment decline of 166,000. By the end of the year, federal government was at its lowest employment level since August 1966.

Employment in both the Department of Defense and in other federal government, which includes civilian federal workers not at the Department of Defense, federal hospitals, or the United States Postal Service, declined by about 13 percent in 2025. (See chart 10.) Employment in federal hospitals and in the United States Postal Service declined by 4.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

Chart 10. Index of employment in federal government components, seasonally adjusted, from January 2015 to December 2025
Date	Index of federal hospitals	Index of Department of Defense	Index of United States Postal Service	Index of other federal government
Jan 2015	87.301	92.799	98.543	88.358
Feb 2015	87.517	93.082	98.593	88.344
Mar 2015	87.733	93.047	98.444	88.466
Apr 2015	87.948	93.064	100.430	88.487
May 2015	88.299	93.064	98.461	88.595
Jun 2015	88.676	92.976	98.494	88.629
Jul 2015	88.946	93.047	98.510	88.697
Aug 2015	89.269	93.064	98.676	88.792
Sep 2015	89.620	93.117	98.626	88.561
Oct 2015	89.862	93.117	98.775	88.364
Nov 2015	90.105	93.135	99.040	88.704
Dec 2015	90.213	93.277	100.132	88.969
Jan 2016	90.537	93.454	99.123	88.813
Feb 2016	90.698	93.471	100.132	88.867
Mar 2016	90.833	93.524	100.331	89.044
Apr 2016	91.022	93.631	100.248	89.118
May 2016	91.130	93.648	100.828	89.322
Jun 2016	91.076	93.737	101.043	89.573
Jul 2016	91.372	93.825	100.844	89.750
Aug 2016	91.426	93.754	101.473	89.777
Sep 2016	91.696	93.808	101.523	89.893
Oct 2016	91.669	93.914	101.291	89.845
Nov 2016	91.238	93.206	100.761	89.893
Dec 2016	92.019	93.949	102.417	90.110
Jan 2017	92.181	93.931	101.589	90.090
Feb 2017	92.262	93.772	101.837	90.001
Mar 2017	92.262	93.595	102.235	89.784
Apr 2017	92.316	93.383	101.424	89.404
May 2017	92.370	93.135	102.301	89.662
Jun 2017	92.478	93.135	102.135	89.560
Jul 2017	92.505	92.976	102.334	89.533
Aug 2017	92.801	93.117	101.556	89.492
Sep 2017	92.720	93.029	101.424	89.431
Oct 2017	92.963	92.728	102.020	89.472
Nov 2017	93.017	92.870	100.795	89.159
Dec 2017	93.448	93.224	101.208	89.030
Jan 2018	93.314	92.976	101.357	89.166
Feb 2018	93.448	92.817	100.712	89.125
Mar 2018	93.664	92.799	100.497	89.200
Apr 2018	93.718	93.312	100.679	89.336
May 2018	93.988	93.631	100.364	88.745
Jun 2018	94.392	93.631	100.463	89.342
Jul 2018	94.311	93.878	100.348	89.132
Aug 2018	94.419	94.197	100.530	89.037
Sep 2018	94.527	94.391	100.778	89.105
Oct 2018	94.662	94.409	100.414	89.193
Nov 2018	94.743	94.798	101.109	89.030
Dec 2018	94.985	95.170	100.861	88.969
Jan 2019	95.093	95.170	100.215	89.159
Feb 2019	95.309	95.276	100.265	89.200
Mar 2019	95.497	95.364	100.463	89.166
Apr 2019	95.767	95.471	100.000	90.219
May 2019	95.794	95.807	100.646	89.954
Jun 2019	95.821	96.231	100.761	89.940
Jul 2019	95.848	96.285	100.530	89.784
Aug 2019	95.956	96.108	100.612	91.455
Sep 2019	96.037	96.320	100.480	91.190
Oct 2019	96.037	96.568	100.761	89.967
Nov 2019	96.145	97.859	100.530	89.893
Dec 2019	96.064	97.895	99.901	89.988
Jan 2020	95.983	97.841	100.414	90.884
Feb 2020	96.171	98.638	98.941	91.360
Mar 2020	95.767	98.938	98.874	92.664
Apr 2020	95.444	98.673	98.676	93.058
May 2020	95.929	98.903	99.934	92.277
Jun 2020	96.279	98.673	100.497	92.426
Jul 2020	96.306	99.416	98.841	94.559
Aug 2020	96.576	99.611	100.116	110.766
Sep 2020	96.630	99.699	100.248	108.253
Oct 2020	96.980	99.823	100.298	98.458
Nov 2020	97.088	99.965	100.480	92.250
Dec 2020	98.328	99.735	100.844	92.195
Jan 2021	97.439	100.018	100.232	91.591
Feb 2021	97.385	100.000	100.728	91.557
Mar 2021	97.654	100.248	100.348	91.693
Apr 2021	97.681	100.177	101.672	91.951
May 2021	97.654	100.106	99.834	92.100
Jun 2021	97.627	100.142	99.586	92.195
Jul 2021	97.439	99.982	100.579	92.223
Aug 2021	96.899	99.894	100.116	92.243
Sep 2021	96.819	99.646	100.480	92.100
Oct 2021	96.792	99.611	99.205	92.039
Nov 2021	96.549	99.257	101.308	91.978
Dec 2021	96.333	98.832	100.844	91.992
Jan 2022	96.037	98.602	101.208	91.937
Feb 2022	95.956	98.355	100.927	91.869
Mar 2022	95.767	98.178	100.629	91.706
Apr 2022	95.848	98.107	100.331	91.727
May 2022	96.064	97.824	99.520	91.856
Jun 2022	96.145	97.594	99.090	91.530
Jul 2022	96.603	97.222	99.520	91.944
Aug 2022	96.765	96.992	98.941	92.019
Sep 2022	97.196	96.957	98.924	92.189
Oct 2022	97.654	96.833	99.106	92.440
Nov 2022	97.789	96.798	98.974	92.664
Dec 2022	98.113	96.886	98.841	92.589
Jan 2023	98.463	96.745	99.156	93.038
Feb 2023	98.760	96.674	99.735	93.330
Mar 2023	99.110	96.656	99.934	93.540
Apr 2023	99.542	96.921	100.331	93.893
May 2023	99.973	97.134	100.480	94.287
Jun 2023	100.431	97.364	100.546	94.851
Jul 2023	100.782	97.912	99.520	95.232
Aug 2023	101.483	97.718	100.513	95.666
Sep 2023	102.103	97.541	100.132	96.054
Oct 2023	102.723	97.735	100.281	96.128
Nov 2023	103.235	98.178	99.917	96.359
Dec 2023	103.855	98.266	99.950	96.746
Jan 2024	104.314	98.231	100.199	96.909
Feb 2024	104.530	98.390	100.348	97.310
Mar 2024	104.637	98.496	100.646	97.813
Apr 2024	104.503	98.620	100.364	98.023
May 2024	104.179	99.045	100.795	98.404
Jun 2024	103.802	99.045	100.745	98.574
Jul 2024	103.370	99.257	100.182	98.906
Aug 2024	102.966	99.310	100.315	99.049
Sep 2024	102.400	99.540	100.265	99.232
Oct 2024	101.618	99.912	100.083	99.429
Nov 2024	101.078	99.912	99.603	99.518
Dec 2024	100.566	99.823	99.090	100.489
Jan 2025	100.000	100.000	100.000	100.000
Feb 2025	99.488	100.460	99.288	99.423
Mar 2025	100.674	100.230	99.040	98.879
Apr 2025	100.216	99.558	99.106	98.220
May 2025	99.703	99.115	98.030	97.310
Jun 2025	99.245	99.080	98.146	96.658
Jul 2025	98.868	98.868	98.576	95.904
Aug 2025	98.355	99.222	98.080	94.620
Sep 2025	97.897	99.045	98.113	94.688
Oct 2025	95.686	89.137	97.865	87.855
Nov 2025	95.821	88.075	98.096	87.379
Dec 2025	95.767	86.713	98.361	87.189
Note: January 2025 = 100. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Professional and business services

Professional and business services lost 160,000 jobs in 2025, after losing 111,000 jobs in 2024. Employment increases in architectural, engineering, and related services (+33,000) were more than offset by losses in other component industries. (See chart 11.) Computer systems design and related services lost 51,000 jobs over the year. Several technology companies announced layoffs in 2025, citing the need to invest in generative artificial intelligence.¹² Scientific research and development services employment fell by 23,000. Temporary help services, while having its smallest job loss in 4 years (–91,000), ended the year 22.5 percent lower than its series high in March 2022.

Chart 11. Over-the-year change in professional and business services employment, by component industry, seasonally adjusted, 2024 and 2025
Industry	2024	2025
Professional, scientific, and technical services ^¹	13,800	-29,300
Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services	-30,300	4,800
Architectural, engineering, and related services	41,100	33,200
Computer systems design and related services	-18,400	-50,800
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services	15,700	-8,400
Management of companies and enterprises	4,600	2,800
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services ^¹	-129,500	-133,900
Office administrative services	5,800	-7,600
Employment services	-152,900	-112,400
Business support services	-45,500	-35,600
Services to buildings and dwellings	34,400	6,500
^¹ Includes additional component industries not shown separately Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing shed 113,000 jobs in 2025, which was a smaller loss than in 2024 when the industry sector lost 179,000 jobs. (See chart 12.) The 12-month manufacturing diffusion index was 34.0 in December 2025, indicating that most manufacturing industries lost jobs during the year. Excluding the pandemic-affected period, manufacturing employment ended the year at its lowest level since March 2018.

Chart 12. Employment in manufacturing, seasonally adjusted, from January 2015 to December 2025
Date	Employment
Jan 2015	12,265,000
Feb 2015	12,275,000
Mar 2015	12,286,000
Apr 2015	12,291,000
May 2015	12,306,000
Jun 2015	12,307,000
Jul 2015	12,323,000
Aug 2015	12,318,000
Sep 2015	12,326,000
Oct 2015	12,334,000
Nov 2015	12,329,000
Dec 2015	12,333,000
Jan 2016	12,354,000
Feb 2016	12,337,000
Mar 2016	12,313,000
Apr 2016	12,325,000
May 2016	12,303,000
Jun 2016	12,321,000
Jul 2016	12,342,000
Aug 2016	12,319,000
Sep 2016	12,317,000
Oct 2016	12,316,000
Nov 2016	12,311,000
Dec 2016	12,324,000
Jan 2017	12,334,000
Feb 2017	12,350,000
Mar 2017	12,361,000
Apr 2017	12,367,000
May 2017	12,377,000
Jun 2017	12,390,000
Jul 2017	12,390,000
Aug 2017	12,435,000
Sep 2017	12,443,000
Oct 2017	12,457,000
Nov 2017	12,472,000
Dec 2017	12,501,000
Jan 2018	12,527,000
Feb 2018	12,551,000
Mar 2018	12,576,000
Apr 2018	12,595,000
May 2018	12,623,000
Jun 2018	12,656,000
Jul 2018	12,676,000
Aug 2018	12,688,000
Sep 2018	12,710,000
Oct 2018	12,731,000
Nov 2018	12,741,000
Dec 2018	12,761,000
Jan 2019	12,790,000
Feb 2019	12,782,000
Mar 2019	12,788,000
Apr 2019	12,785,000
May 2019	12,778,000
Jun 2019	12,787,000
Jul 2019	12,790,000
Aug 2019	12,789,000
Sep 2019	12,787,000
Oct 2019	12,733,000
Nov 2019	12,777,000
Dec 2019	12,760,000
Jan 2020	12,745,000
Feb 2020	12,743,000
Mar 2020	12,684,000
Apr 2020	11,382,000
May 2020	11,610,000
Jun 2020	11,950,000
Jul 2020	11,973,000
Aug 2020	11,999,000
Sep 2020	12,057,000
Oct 2020	12,086,000
Nov 2020	12,118,000
Dec 2020	12,153,000
Jan 2021	12,142,000
Feb 2021	12,172,000
Mar 2021	12,229,000
Apr 2021	12,193,000
May 2021	12,216,000
Jun 2021	12,247,000
Jul 2021	12,305,000
Aug 2021	12,353,000
Sep 2021	12,393,000
Oct 2021	12,453,000
Nov 2021	12,498,000
Dec 2021	12,537,000
Jan 2022	12,564,000
Feb 2022	12,601,000
Mar 2022	12,674,000
Apr 2022	12,726,000
May 2022	12,735,000
Jun 2022	12,767,000
Jul 2022	12,800,000
Aug 2022	12,832,000
Sep 2022	12,849,000
Oct 2022	12,883,000
Nov 2022	12,896,000
Dec 2022	12,895,000
Jan 2023	12,903,000
Feb 2023	12,898,000
Mar 2023	12,888,000
Apr 2023	12,884,000
May 2023	12,869,000
Jun 2023	12,875,000
Jul 2023	12,862,000
Aug 2023	12,861,000
Sep 2023	12,872,000
Oct 2023	12,837,000
Nov 2023	12,859,000
Dec 2023	12,872,000
Jan 2024	12,875,000
Feb 2024	12,852,000
Mar 2024	12,836,000
Apr 2024	12,833,000
May 2024	12,825,000
Jun 2024	12,814,000
Jul 2024	12,806,000
Aug 2024	12,772,000
Sep 2024	12,758,000
Oct 2024	12,697,000
Nov 2024	12,711,000
Dec 2024	12,693,000
Jan 2025	12,673,000
Feb 2025	12,671,000
Mar 2025	12,666,000
Apr 2025	12,662,000
May 2025	12,651,000
Jun 2025	12,636,000
Jul 2025	12,625,000
Aug 2025	12,615,000
Sep 2025	12,612,000
Oct 2025	12,603,000
Nov 2025	12,593,000
Dec 2025	12,580,000
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Durable goods manufacturing lost 78,000 jobs in 2025, with losses in transportation equipment manufacturing (–33,000), computer and electronic product manufacturing (–22,000), wood product manufacturing (–14,000), and machinery manufacturing (–13,000). There were small job losses in nondurable goods manufacturing as employment declined in plastics and rubber products manufacturing (–12,000), printing and related support activities (–9,000), and apparel manufacturing (–6,000).

Manufacturing faced increased costs in 2025. New tariffs on steel and copper raised the price of materials and manufacturing equipment.¹³ The Producer Price Index (PPI), published by BLS, found that the price of iron and steel that businesses received was 12.4 percent higher in December 2025 than in December 2024. As with other taxes, tariffs are not included in the reported PPI price. It is possible, however, that suppliers increased their prices to offset the additional tax burden.¹⁴

Manufacturing indexes were mixed in 2025. The Institute of Supply Management’s Purchasing Managers Index contracted every month after February 2025, indicating that the manufacturing sector pulled back on new orders and employment.¹⁵ Surveyed executives claimed that tariffs and economic uncertainty made long-term planning difficult. The S&P Global’s U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, on the other hand, reported that manufacturing production and employment expanded for much of the year even as costs increased.¹⁶

Transportation and warehousing

Transportation and warehousing employment dropped by 108,000 in 2025, after a gain of a similar magnitude in 2024 (+103,000). (See chart 13.) Most of the losses in 2025 came from warehousing and storage, which shed 45,000 jobs, and couriers and messengers, which shed 43,000 jobs. These two industries had previously benefitted from the pandemic surge in demand for e-commerce and, as of the end of the year, still had higher employment levels than they did in February 2020.

Chart 13. Over-the-month change in transportation and warehousing employment, seasonally adjusted, from January 2023 to December 2025
Date	Over-the-month change	Annual average
Jan 2023	7,800	-3,800
Feb 2023	-29,400	-3,800
Mar 2023	-10,600	-3,800
Apr 2023	2,900	-3,800
May 2023	23,400	-3,800
Jun 2023	-11,200	-3,800
Jul 2023	0	-3,800
Aug 2023	-14,900	-3,800
Sep 2023	20,800	-3,800
Oct 2023	16,900	-3,800
Nov 2023	-1,200	-3,800
Dec 2023	-50,400	-3,800
Jan 2024	1,900	8,600
Feb 2024	37,800	8,600
Mar 2024	9,800	8,600
Apr 2024	21,300	8,600
May 2024	13,200	8,600
Jun 2024	2,600	8,600
Jul 2024	-1,200	8,600
Aug 2024	-2,800	8,600
Sep 2024	16,200	8,600
Oct 2024	-9,200	8,600
Nov 2024	9,400	8,600
Dec 2024	3,600	8,600
Jan 2025	1,700	-9,000
Feb 2025	24,200	-9,000
Mar 2025	-17,400	-9,000
Apr 2025	-16,300	-9,000
May 2025	100	-9,000
Jun 2025	0	-9,000
Jul 2025	3,900	-9,000
Aug 2025	-1,600	-9,000
Sep 2025	-39,300	-9,000
Oct 2025	600	-9,000
Nov 2025	-58,900	-9,000
Dec 2025	-4,800	-9,000
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Employment in truck transportation declined by 28,000 in 2025, less severe than the loss of 41,000 in 2024. (See chart 14.) Truck transportation has been steadily losing jobs since 2022, which may be attributed to a freight recession in which an imbalance in supply and demand has depressed shipping rates.¹⁷ The freight market may be turning a corner, however, as the annual average Cass Freight Expenditures Index, a measure of North American shipping volumes, declined by 0.5 percent in 2025 after declining by 19 percent and 11 percent in 2023 and 2024, respectively.¹⁸ The rising expenditures reflect that trucking rates are increasing even as shipments remain low, potentially indicating that carriers have pricing power.

Chart 14. Employment in truck transportation, seasonally adjusted, from January 2015 to December 2025
Date	Employment
Jan 2015	1,443,900
Feb 2015	1,448,600
Mar 2015	1,443,800
Apr 2015	1,443,100
May 2015	1,452,200
Jun 2015	1,460,000
Jul 2015	1,461,500
Aug 2015	1,460,500
Sep 2015	1,458,000
Oct 2015	1,452,900
Nov 2015	1,455,100
Dec 2015	1,455,700
Jan 2016	1,456,300
Feb 2016	1,454,000
Mar 2016	1,449,800
Apr 2016	1,447,700
May 2016	1,446,700
Jun 2016	1,442,700
Jul 2016	1,441,800
Aug 2016	1,445,000
Sep 2016	1,445,200
Oct 2016	1,450,600
Nov 2016	1,452,500
Dec 2016	1,451,500
Jan 2017	1,445,100
Feb 2017	1,448,800
Mar 2017	1,452,000
Apr 2017	1,456,900
May 2017	1,455,700
Jun 2017	1,457,200
Jul 2017	1,458,500
Aug 2017	1,459,000
Sep 2017	1,462,300
Oct 2017	1,463,500
Nov 2017	1,462,900
Dec 2017	1,466,200
Jan 2018	1,470,600
Feb 2018	1,477,200
Mar 2018	1,486,500
Apr 2018	1,484,000
May 2018	1,488,300
Jun 2018	1,491,600
Jul 2018	1,492,100
Aug 2018	1,502,900
Sep 2018	1,509,500
Oct 2018	1,511,100
Nov 2018	1,515,100
Dec 2018	1,520,700
Jan 2019	1,526,000
Feb 2019	1,530,300
Mar 2019	1,531,000
Apr 2019	1,532,400
May 2019	1,532,800
Jun 2019	1,534,700
Jul 2019	1,534,500
Aug 2019	1,529,400
Sep 2019	1,524,600
Oct 2019	1,523,700
Nov 2019	1,520,900
Dec 2019	1,516,900
Jan 2020	1,515,800
Feb 2020	1,516,800
Mar 2020	1,516,200
Apr 2020	1,431,600
May 2020	1,433,500
Jun 2020	1,439,100
Jul 2020	1,444,000
Aug 2020	1,453,300
Sep 2020	1,461,500
Oct 2020	1,471,800
Nov 2020	1,481,000
Dec 2020	1,487,700
Jan 2021	1,489,000
Feb 2021	1,492,400
Mar 2021	1,502,600
Apr 2021	1,504,900
May 2021	1,501,000
Jun 2021	1,508,800
Jul 2021	1,515,600
Aug 2021	1,521,200
Sep 2021	1,527,300
Oct 2021	1,533,900
Nov 2021	1,541,600
Dec 2021	1,546,500
Jan 2022	1,557,500
Feb 2022	1,564,700
Mar 2022	1,561,300
Apr 2022	1,567,000
May 2022	1,577,200
Jun 2022	1,582,700
Jul 2022	1,587,400
Aug 2022	1,588,300
Sep 2022	1,582,200
Oct 2022	1,588,600
Nov 2022	1,585,400
Dec 2022	1,587,500
Jan 2023	1,587,800
Feb 2023	1,579,500
Mar 2023	1,575,000
Apr 2023	1,573,700
May 2023	1,574,400
Jun 2023	1,571,500
Jul 2023	1,565,800
Aug 2023	1,533,100
Sep 2023	1,539,100
Oct 2023	1,537,000
Nov 2023	1,536,300
Dec 2023	1,535,500
Jan 2024	1,532,000
Feb 2024	1,530,200
Mar 2024	1,529,200
Apr 2024	1,523,600
May 2024	1,515,100
Jun 2024	1,511,600
Jul 2024	1,505,700
Aug 2024	1,502,300
Sep 2024	1,501,300
Oct 2024	1,497,700
Nov 2024	1,497,100
Dec 2024	1,494,800
Jan 2025	1,493,100
Feb 2025	1,487,600
Mar 2025	1,491,400
Apr 2025	1,490,600
May 2025	1,487,700
Jun 2025	1,482,700
Jul 2025	1,482,500
Aug 2025	1,480,200
Sep 2025	1,472,300
Oct 2025	1,472,600
Nov 2025	1,467,800
Dec 2025	1,467,200
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There were small employment increases in air transportation (+8,000) and pipeline transportation (+4,000) in 2025. Support activities for transportation had widespread weakness. In particular, support activities for water transportation lost 7,000 jobs over the year.

Information

Job losses in the information industry sector slowed slightly from 68,000 in 2024 to 53,000 in 2025. (See chart 15.) The industry sector ended 2025 with 273,000 fewer jobs than at its most recent peak in November 2022. Within information, motion picture and sound recording industries lost 25,000 jobs in 2025 and ended the year with 24.1 percent fewer jobs than at its most recent peak, also in November 2022. Telecommunications employment fell by 19,000 in 2025.

Chart 15. Employment in information, seasonally adjusted, from January 2015 to December 2025
Date	Employment
Jan 2015	2,740,000
Feb 2015	2,741,000
Mar 2015	2,737,000
Apr 2015	2,742,000
May 2015	2,747,000
Jun 2015	2,748,000
Jul 2015	2,752,000
Aug 2015	2,751,000
Sep 2015	2,764,000
Oct 2015	2,766,000
Nov 2015	2,751,000
Dec 2015	2,761,000
Jan 2016	2,762,000
Feb 2016	2,775,000
Mar 2016	2,785,000
Apr 2016	2,789,000
May 2016	2,751,000
Jun 2016	2,801,000
Jul 2016	2,799,000
Aug 2016	2,803,000
Sep 2016	2,817,000
Oct 2016	2,814,000
Nov 2016	2,812,000
Dec 2016	2,817,000
Jan 2017	2,821,000
Feb 2017	2,815,000
Mar 2017	2,813,000
Apr 2017	2,804,000
May 2017	2,801,000
Jun 2017	2,811,000
Jul 2017	2,809,000
Aug 2017	2,813,000
Sep 2017	2,816,000
Oct 2017	2,811,000
Nov 2017	2,815,000
Dec 2017	2,818,000
Jan 2018	2,817,000
Feb 2018	2,819,000
Mar 2018	2,826,000
Apr 2018	2,838,000
May 2018	2,841,000
Jun 2018	2,838,000
Jul 2018	2,841,000
Aug 2018	2,840,000
Sep 2018	2,838,000
Oct 2018	2,850,000
Nov 2018	2,850,000
Dec 2018	2,851,000
Jan 2019	2,842,000
Feb 2019	2,843,000
Mar 2019	2,849,000
Apr 2019	2,846,000
May 2019	2,858,000
Jun 2019	2,875,000
Jul 2019	2,866,000
Aug 2019	2,865,000
Sep 2019	2,871,000
Oct 2019	2,874,000
Nov 2019	2,885,000
Dec 2019	2,891,000
Jan 2020	2,901,000
Feb 2020	2,910,000
Mar 2020	2,902,000
Apr 2020	2,643,000
May 2020	2,609,000
Jun 2020	2,622,000
Jul 2020	2,622,000
Aug 2020	2,640,000
Sep 2020	2,695,000
Oct 2020	2,684,000
Nov 2020	2,696,000
Dec 2020	2,712,000
Jan 2021	2,747,000
Feb 2021	2,764,000
Mar 2021	2,770,000
Apr 2021	2,796,000
May 2021	2,816,000
Jun 2021	2,824,000
Jul 2021	2,881,000
Aug 2021	2,903,000
Sep 2021	2,917,000
Oct 2021	2,938,000
Nov 2021	2,957,000
Dec 2021	2,967,000
Jan 2022	2,984,000
Feb 2022	2,990,000
Mar 2022	3,018,000
Apr 2022	3,034,000
May 2022	3,057,000
Jun 2022	3,076,000
Jul 2022	3,094,000
Aug 2022	3,097,000
Sep 2022	3,095,000
Oct 2022	3,100,000
Nov 2022	3,115,000
Dec 2022	3,092,000
Jan 2023	3,061,000
Feb 2023	3,048,000
Mar 2023	3,049,000
Apr 2023	3,043,000
May 2023	3,034,000
Jun 2023	3,021,000
Jul 2023	3,001,000
Aug 2023	2,981,000
Sep 2023	2,975,000
Oct 2023	2,951,000
Nov 2023	2,962,000
Dec 2023	2,963,000
Jan 2024	2,963,000
Feb 2024	2,958,000
Mar 2024	2,951,000
Apr 2024	2,940,000
May 2024	2,930,000
Jun 2024	2,930,000
Jul 2024	2,917,000
Aug 2024	2,909,000
Sep 2024	2,903,000
Oct 2024	2,887,000
Nov 2024	2,885,000
Dec 2024	2,895,000
Jan 2025	2,877,000
Feb 2025	2,876,000
Mar 2025	2,867,000
Apr 2025	2,865,000
May 2025	2,864,000
Jun 2025	2,863,000
Jul 2025	2,861,000
Aug 2025	2,860,000
Sep 2025	2,859,000
Oct 2025	2,853,000
Nov 2025	2,848,000
Dec 2025	2,842,000
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Employment in computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting and related services changed little in 2025 (–8,000). This industry–—which includes cloud storage services, cryptocurrency mining, and colocation services (rental of server and networking space in data centers)—ended the year with 16,000 fewer jobs than at its most recent peak in August 2023.¹⁹

Wholesale trade

Wholesale trade employment declined (–50,000) in 2025 after trending down by 41,000 in 2024. (See chart 16.) Losses were concentrated in wholesale trade agents and brokers, which lost 22,000 jobs in 2025 and ended the year with 35,000 fewer jobs than at its most recent trough in July 2020.

Chart 16. Employment in wholesale trade, seasonally adjusted, from January 2015 to December 2025
Date	Employment
Jan 2015	5,770,900
Feb 2015	5,780,200
Mar 2015	5,783,000
Apr 2015	5,778,700
May 2015	5,784,900
Jun 2015	5,785,700
Jul 2015	5,784,100
Aug 2015	5,785,200
Sep 2015	5,775,200
Oct 2015	5,776,300
Nov 2015	5,778,600
Dec 2015	5,775,900
Jan 2016	5,779,700
Feb 2016	5,775,400
Mar 2016	5,779,900
Apr 2016	5,784,300
May 2016	5,781,900
Jun 2016	5,777,100
Jul 2016	5,781,500
Aug 2016	5,784,100
Sep 2016	5,794,500
Oct 2016	5,799,700
Nov 2016	5,801,100
Dec 2016	5,797,100
Jan 2017	5,802,500
Feb 2017	5,804,900
Mar 2017	5,807,600
Apr 2017	5,809,900
May 2017	5,805,600
Jun 2017	5,810,500
Jul 2017	5,815,000
Aug 2017	5,816,200
Sep 2017	5,814,200
Oct 2017	5,823,000
Nov 2017	5,822,000
Dec 2017	5,825,800
Jan 2018	5,820,800
Feb 2018	5,823,300
Mar 2018	5,838,600
Apr 2018	5,816,300
May 2018	5,819,200
Jun 2018	5,822,800
Jul 2018	5,837,400
Aug 2018	5,857,600
Sep 2018	5,852,800
Oct 2018	5,858,700
Nov 2018	5,864,400
Dec 2018	5,871,400
Jan 2019	5,877,000
Feb 2019	5,882,600
Mar 2019	5,882,300
Apr 2019	5,889,200
May 2019	5,889,600
Jun 2019	5,885,800
Jul 2019	5,889,500
Aug 2019	5,889,700
Sep 2019	5,890,800
Oct 2019	5,896,000
Nov 2019	5,893,000
Dec 2019	5,898,400
Jan 2020	5,896,200
Feb 2020	5,893,400
Mar 2020	5,876,100
Apr 2020	5,485,600
May 2020	5,500,200
Jun 2020	5,541,200
Jul 2020	5,522,200
Aug 2020	5,539,300
Sep 2020	5,565,600
Oct 2020	5,577,200
Nov 2020	5,590,300
Dec 2020	5,599,100
Jan 2021	5,607,300
Feb 2021	5,618,800
Mar 2021	5,633,700
Apr 2021	5,651,400
May 2021	5,672,000
Jun 2021	5,699,900
Jul 2021	5,723,300
Aug 2021	5,744,000
Sep 2021	5,758,500
Oct 2021	5,773,900
Nov 2021	5,800,100
Dec 2021	5,828,100
Jan 2022	5,851,600
Feb 2022	5,876,500
Mar 2022	5,913,700
Apr 2022	5,945,300
May 2022	5,970,700
Jun 2022	5,987,600
Jul 2022	6,002,200
Aug 2022	6,025,300
Sep 2022	6,031,000
Oct 2022	6,043,400
Nov 2022	6,049,400
Dec 2022	6,059,800
Jan 2023	6,073,400
Feb 2023	6,089,700
Mar 2023	6,094,400
Apr 2023	6,091,500
May 2023	6,098,500
Jun 2023	6,101,000
Jul 2023	6,112,500
Aug 2023	6,116,700
Sep 2023	6,125,900
Oct 2023	6,127,400
Nov 2023	6,132,300
Dec 2023	6,132,800
Jan 2024	6,126,000
Feb 2024	6,120,500
Mar 2024	6,127,200
Apr 2024	6,127,500
May 2024	6,109,100
Jun 2024	6,111,900
Jul 2024	6,110,400
Aug 2024	6,106,200
Sep 2024	6,099,400
Oct 2024	6,094,800
Nov 2024	6,089,500
Dec 2024	6,092,100
Jan 2025	6,073,300
Feb 2025	6,075,900
Mar 2025	6,062,000
Apr 2025	6,066,900
May 2025	6,067,700
Jun 2025	6,057,300
Jul 2025	6,051,600
Aug 2025	6,043,000
Sep 2025	6,051,800
Oct 2025	6,054,600
Nov 2025	6,048,200
Dec 2025	6,042,500
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Retail trade

Retail trade employment trended down in 2025 by 47,000, after declining by 91,000 in 2024. Within the industry sector, employment declined in health and personal care retailers (–33,000), in furniture, home furnishings, electronics, and appliance retailers (–23,000), and in building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (–14,000). (See chart 17.) Gasoline stations and fuel dealers added 13,000 jobs as the retail price of gasoline fell over the year.²⁰ Job gains in warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers (+16,000) partially offset losses in department stores (–32,000).

Chart 17. Over-the-year change in retail trade employment, by component industry, seasonally adjusted, 2024 and 2025
Industry	2024	2025
Motor vehicle and parts dealers	-8,000	8,400
Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers	-48,500	-14,100
Food and beverage retailers	30,300	3,300
Furniture, home furnishings, electronics, and appliance retailers	-27,000	-22,500
General merchandise retailers	1,700	-16,100
Department stores	-21,400	-32,200
Warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers	23,100	16,100
Health and personal care retailers	-18,700	-33,400
Gasoline stations and fuel dealers	-3,900	13,200
Clothing, clothing accessories, shoe, and jewelry retailers	3,400	-2,200
Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers	-20,100	16,800
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, total retail sales increased by 3.7 percent in 2025.²¹ However, the Consumer Confidence Index, often considered a preview of consumer spending patterns, declined to 89.1 in December 2025, more than 20 points below the December 2024 reading.²²

In preparation for the holiday shopping season, the retail trade industry sector hires thousands of additional workers to handle increased demand. (See chart 18.) Retail trade added 462,000 jobs (not seasonally adjusted) from September to December 2025, which was the weakest holiday buildup since 2008.²³

Chart 18. October, November, and December employment change in retail trade, not seasonally adjusted, from 2005 to 2025
Year	Employment change in October, November, and December
2005	711,700
2006	747,500
2007	721,800
2008	324,200
2009	495,900
2010	647,400
2011	679,400
2012	724,000
2013	787,100
2014	748,400
2015	708,100
2016	643,600
2017	626,400
2018	590,500
2019	651,900
2020	749,800
2021	637,700
2022	519,500
2023	541,700
2024	510,600
2025	461,500
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Mining and logging

Mining and logging employment continued to decline in 2025, contracting by 18,000 after a similar loss in 2024 (–16,000). The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry lost 15,000 jobs in 2025. (See chart 19.) Oil and gas extraction employment fell by 4,000 as crude oil prices declined over the year.²⁴

Chart 19. Employment in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, seasonally adjusted, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price in dollars, not seasonally adjusted, from January 2015 to December 2025
Date	Employment in mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction	West Texas Intermediate price
Jan 2015	834,700	47.22
Feb 2015	822,800	50.58
Mar 2015	806,900	47.82
Apr 2015	791,600	54.45
May 2015	770,400	59.27
Jun 2015	765,300	59.82
Jul 2015	754,000	50.90
Aug 2015	740,500	42.87
Sep 2015	727,900	45.48
Oct 2015	717,800	46.22
Nov 2015	703,500	42.44
Dec 2015	694,500	37.19
Jan 2016	679,800	31.68
Feb 2016	657,800	30.32
Mar 2016	638,600	37.55
Apr 2016	626,600	40.75
May 2016	615,500	46.71
Jun 2016	605,500	48.76
Jul 2016	601,200	44.65
Aug 2016	596,400	44.72
Sep 2016	594,700	45.18
Oct 2016	593,500	49.78
Nov 2016	596,800	45.66
Dec 2016	596,400	51.97
Jan 2017	597,800	52.50
Feb 2017	605,700	53.47
Mar 2017	610,100	49.33
Apr 2017	618,700	51.06
May 2017	624,200	48.48
Jun 2017	627,500	45.18
Jul 2017	630,600	46.63
Aug 2017	634,200	48.04
Sep 2017	635,800	49.82
Oct 2017	637,700	51.58
Nov 2017	642,100	56.64
Dec 2017	644,300	57.88
Jan 2018	648,300	63.76
Feb 2018	657,100	62.23
Mar 2018	664,600	62.73
Apr 2018	671,300	66.25
May 2018	675,400	69.98
Jun 2018	681,400	67.87
Jul 2018	680,600	70.98
Aug 2018	687,500	68.06
Sep 2018	689,400	70.23
Oct 2018	691,500	70.75
Nov 2018	686,600	56.64
Dec 2018	693,500	57.88
Jan 2019	695,600	51.38
Feb 2019	694,800	54.95
Mar 2019	693,600	58.15
Apr 2019	691,100	63.86
May 2019	689,700	60.83
Jun 2019	686,100	54.66
Jul 2019	679,900	57.35
Aug 2019	670,000	54.81
Sep 2019	668,300	56.95
Oct 2019	666,200	53.86
Nov 2019	655,000	57.03
Dec 2019	644,700	59.88
Jan 2020	631,200	57.52
Feb 2020	636,100	50.54
Mar 2020	630,300	29.21
Apr 2020	572,600	16.55
May 2020	548,600	28.56
Jun 2020	533,400	38.31
Jul 2020	523,100	40.71
Aug 2020	515,800	45.34
Sep 2020	514,500	39.63
Oct 2020	509,700	39.40
Nov 2020	507,300	40.94
Dec 2020	509,300	47.02
Jan 2021	501,500	52.00
Feb 2021	490,900	59.04
Mar 2021	506,400	62.33
Apr 2021	507,000	61.72
May 2021	511,000	65.17
Jun 2021	512,200	71.38
Jul 2021	514,600	72.49
Aug 2021	518,200	67.73
Sep 2021	520,300	71.65
Oct 2021	524,300	81.48
Nov 2021	526,400	79.15
Dec 2021	532,000	71.71
Jan 2022	533,600	83.22
Feb 2022	536,100	91.64
Mar 2022	542,800	108.50
Apr 2022	551,800	101.78
May 2022	556,900	109.55
Jun 2022	563,200	114.84
Jul 2022	569,700	101.62
Aug 2022	566,700	96.67
Sep 2022	569,700	84.26
Oct 2022	574,100	87.55
Nov 2022	579,400	84.37
Dec 2022	582,600	76.44
Jan 2023	588,900	78.12
Feb 2023	588,900	76.83
Mar 2023	589,000	73.28
Apr 2023	592,400	79.45
May 2023	597,100	71.58
Jun 2023	595,400	70.25
Jul 2023	595,800	76.07
Aug 2023	595,800	81.39
Sep 2023	595,000	89.43
Oct 2023	593,000	85.64
Nov 2023	591,900	77.69
Dec 2023	594,600	71.90
Jan 2024	590,300	74.15
Feb 2024	590,500	77.25
Mar 2024	593,200	81.28
Apr 2024	586,600	85.35
May 2024	583,900	80.02
Jun 2024	581,000	79.77
Jul 2024	581,500	81.80
Aug 2024	580,500	76.68
Sep 2024	581,900	70.24
Oct 2024	580,900	71.99
Nov 2024	583,400	69.95
Dec 2024	581,400	70.12
Jan 2025	581,400	75.74
Feb 2025	580,600	71.53
Mar 2025	578,500	68.24
Apr 2025	579,800	63.54
May 2025	576,900	62.17
Jun 2025	574,500	68.17
Jul 2025	570,200	68.39
Aug 2025	567,800	64.86
Sep 2025	566,100	63.96
Oct 2025	567,300	60.89
Nov 2025	566,600	60.06
Dec 2025	566,300	57.97
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Coal mining employment continued to trend down in 2025 (–2,000) and was only 4,000 higher than a series low in November 2020. Coal demand has fallen as coal-fired power plants are replaced with cheaper and more efficient options, like natural gas or renewable energy sources.²⁵ The logging industry lost 3,000 jobs in 2025. Logging has lost 27.4 percent of its employment over the last decade, as paper correspondence becomes less popular and construction slows across the country.²⁶

Industry sectors that changed little in 2025

The remaining three major industry sectors changed little in 2025. Employment in utilities and in financial activities was flat in 2024 and 2025. Construction added jobs in 2024 but slowed in 2025. This section discusses the deceleration in construction employment.

Construction

After increasing in 2024, construction employment changed little in 2025. Much of the slowdown occurred in residential specialty trade contractors, which lost 49,000 jobs over the year. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, there were 8.5 percent fewer housing units completed in 2025 than in 2024.²⁷ (See chart 20.) Employment in nonresidential specialty trade contractors edged up in 2025, partially offsetting the losses in residential construction. The U.S. Census Bureau found that the value of residential and nonresidential private construction put in place fell by 1.1 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, in 2025. Within nonresidential construction, however, the value of data center construction was 42.9 percent higher in 2025 than in 2024.²⁸

Chart 20. Over-the-year change in construction employment, by component industry, seasonally adjusted, 2024 and 2025
Industry	2024	2025
Residential building construction	9,100	-12,600
Nonresidential building construction	25,800	6,500
Heavy and civil engineering construction	37,400	18,400
Residential specialty trade contractors	22,300	-49,300
Nonresidential specialty trade contractors	81,000	32,500
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hours and earnings

In 2025, average weekly hours for all private-sector employees edged down by 0.1 hour to 34.2 hours. The same measure for production and nonsupervisory employees was unchanged at 33.7 hours. Average hourly earnings for all private-sector employees increased by 3.7 percent over the year, in line with an increase of 4.1 percent in 2024. (See table 1.) Earnings levels increased by the most in the high-paying industry sectors of information (+$2.62), financial activities (+$1.90), and utilities (+$1.81). The rate of growth was fastest for information (+5.1 percent), retail trade (+4.6 percent), and manufacturing (+4.4 percent). That is, although the largest gains went to industries with already high earnings, there was accelerated growth among some lower earning industries.

Table 1: Over-the-year change in average hourly earnings for all employees, in dollars, seasonally adjusted, from December 2024 to December 2025
Industry	December 2024 earnings	December 2025 earnings	Change from December 2024 to December 2025	Percent increase from December 2024 to December 2025
Mining and logging	39.86	40.68	0.82	2.1
Construction	38.94	40.44	1.50	3.9
Manufacturing	34.56	36.08	1.52	4.4
Wholesale trade	37.92	39.32	1.40	3.7
Retail trade	24.87	26.02	1.15	4.6
Transportation and warehousing	30.94	32.12	1.18	3.8
Utilities	52.07	53.88	1.81	3.5
Information	51.28	53.90	2.62	5.1
Financial activities	46.47	48.37	1.90	4.1
Professional and business services	43.31	44.96	1.65	3.8
Private education and health services	35.01	35.95	0.94	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	22.42	23.25	0.83	3.7
Other services	32.36	33.70	1.34	4.1
Total private	35.69	37.02	1.33	3.7
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 3.8 percent over the year, similar to earnings growth in 2024 (4.0 percent).²⁹ (See table 2.) The largest earnings increases were in information (+5.8 percent), financial activities (+5.1 percent), and transportation and warehousing (+4.6 percent).

Table 2: Over-the-year change in annual average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees, in dollars, seasonally adjusted, from December 2024 to December 2025
Industry	December 2024 earnings	December 2025 earnings	Change from December 2024 to December 2025	Percent increase from December 2024 to December 2025
Mining and logging	36.56	37.49	0.93	2.5
Construction	36.42	38.12	1.70	4.7
Manufacturing	28.34	29.51	1.17	4.1
Wholesale trade	31.58	32.56	0.98	3.1
Retail trade	21.14	21.98	0.84	4.0
Transportation and warehousing	29.34	30.69	1.35	4.6
Utilities	45.89	47.23	1.34	2.9
Information	41.82	44.24	2.42	5.8
Financial activities	36.39	38.26	1.87	5.1
Professional and business services	36.48	37.62	1.14	3.1
Private education and health services	32.10	33.04	0.94	2.9
Leisure and hospitality	19.83	20.67	0.84	4.2
Other services	28.23	29.28	1.05	3.7
Total private	30.66	31.83	1.17	3.8
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Earnings growth exceeded increases in the Consumer Price Index, indicating that average earnings outpaced inflation over the year. Real hourly earnings, or earnings adjusted for inflation, rose by 1.0 percent in 2025. The change in real hourly earnings combined with the 0.3-percent decrease in average weekly hours resulted in a 0.7-percent increase in real weekly earnings for all employees. For production and nonsupervisory employees, real hourly earnings increased by 1.2 percent, and average weekly hours were unchanged, which caused real weekly earnings to increase by 1.2 percent over the year.

Summary: little net change as several industry sector losses offset gains in health care and social assistance

In 2025, total nonfarm employment changed little. Health care and social assistance exhibited strength, and the federal government had its largest job losses in almost 80 years. Most major industry sectors experienced slowed employment growth, but manufacturing and retail trade had smaller job losses than in 2024. Employment weakness was widespread as government, professional and business services, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, information, wholesale trade, and mining and logging lost jobs over the year and retail trade trended down. Private-sector average hourly earnings increased by 3.7 percent for all employees and 3.8 percent for production and nonsupervisory employees.

Suggested citation:

Claire Mersol, "Balancing act: major industry employment changes cancel out in 2025," Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2026, https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2026.30

Notes

¹ The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, which provides detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings on nonfarm payrolls, is a monthly survey of about 119,000 businesses and government agencies representing approximately 622,000 individual worksites. For more information on the program’s concepts and methodology, see “Current Employment Statistics–National” in "Handbook of Methods," U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified February 28, 2025, https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ces/. To access CES national data, see “Current Employment Statistics–CES (National),” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/ces. The CES data used in this article are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise noted.

² A diffusion index is a measure of how widespread gains or losses are across industries. The diffusion index is the percent of industries with employment increasing plus one-half of the industries with unchanged employment, where 50 percent indicates an equal balance between industries with increasing and decreasing employment. More information on how the CES calculates the diffusion index for private industries and manufacturing industries is available in the Handbook of Methods; see “Derivate data” in "Current Employment Statistics–National: calculation" in "Handbook of Methods," U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified February 28, 2025, https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ces/calculation.htm#derivative-data.

³ “U.S. tariff timeline,” C.H. Robinson, last updated August 19, 2026, https://www.chrobinson.com/en-us/resources/insights-and-advisories/trade-tariff-insights/tariff-timeline/.

⁴ “Table 1.1.11. Real Gross Domestic Product: percent change from quarter one year ago” in "National Income and Product Accounts," U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, last revised September 30, 2026, https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/?reqid=19&step=2&isuri=1&categories=survey.

⁵ “Table 1.1.1. Percent change from preceding period in real Gross Domestic Product” in "National Income and Product Accounts," U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, last revised September 30, 2026, https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/?reqid=19&step=2&isuri=1&categories=survey.

⁶ Kara Sullivan, “Workforce growth in community-based care: meeting the needs of an aging population,” Monthly Labor Review (December 2016), https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/workforce-growth-in-community-based-care.htm.

⁷ “Advance monthly sale for retail and food services,” U.S. Census Bureau, May 14, 2026, https://www.census.gov/retail/sales.html.

⁸ “Restaurant performance index: December 2025,” MTS Insights, January 30, 2026, https://www.mtsinsights.com/summaries/7109/.

⁹ Michael T. Nietzel “Budget deficits threaten more flagship universities,” Forbes, May 19, 2026, https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2026/05/19/budget-deficits-threaten-more-flagship-universities/.

¹⁰ Note that hiring for the decennial census causes spikes in employment levels every 10 years.

¹¹ “Fork: frequently asked questions,” U.S. Office of Personnel Management, https://www.opm.gov/about-us/fork/faq/.

¹² Danielle Abril, “Tech companies are cutting jobs and betting on AI. The payoff is far from guaranteed,” The Guardian, April 6, 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/06/tech-layoffs-ai-work. More information on occupations exposed to generative artificial intelligence is available in the following article: Michael J. Rieley and Javier Colato, “Industry and occupational employment projections overview and highlights, 2024–34,” Monthly Labor Review (January 2026), https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2026/article/industry-and-occupational-employment-projections-overview.htm.

¹³ Chip Hoover and Branden Crosby, “4 ways manufacturers can respond strategically to the impact of tariffs,” Warren Averett, April 25, 2025, https://warrenaverett.com/insights/manufacturing-response-tariffs/.

¹⁴ More information on the impact of tariffs is available in the following article: Brian Hergt, “The effect of tariff rates on the U.S. economy: what the Producer Price Index tells us,” Beyond the Numbers 9, no. 13, October 2020, https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-9/the-effects-of-tarifff-rates-on-the-u-s-economy-what-the-producer-price-index-tells-us.htm; and see “Does the PPI include tariffs in its estimates of price change?” in "Frequently asked questions (FAQs)" in "Producer Price Index," U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 4, 2026, https://www.bls.gov/ppi/faqs/questions-and-answers.htm#25.

¹⁵ “Manufacturing PMI at 47.9%: December 2025 ISM Manufacturing PMI Report,” PR Newswire, January 5, 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/manufacturing-pmi-at-47-9-december-2025-ism-manufacturing-pmi-report-302649307.html.

¹⁶ “Manufacturing operating conditions improve at slower pace as demand weakens” in "S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI," S&P Global, January 2, 2026, https://www.pmi.spglobal.com/Public/Home/PressRelease/7ca2ebfa9cce4c768e0cf449ba966293.

¹⁷ Kaily Hodges, “Freight recession: what truckers need to know in 2026,” OTR Solutions, December 20, 2025, https://otrsolutions.com/blog/what-truckers-need-to-know-about-the-freight-recession.

¹⁸ Tim Denoyer, “Truckload rates on the rise,” Cass Transportation Index Report, Cass Information Systems, January 2026, https://www.cassinfo.com/freight-audit-payment/cass-transportation-indexes/january-2026.

¹⁹ More information on what establishments compose this industry is available from the following data tool: “Industry finder” in "Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages," U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified October 5, 2023, https://data.bls.gov/cew/apps/bls_naics/v3/bls_naics_app.htm#tab=search&naics=2022&keyword=518210&searchType=titles&filter=6_filter&sort=text_asc&resultIndex=0.

²⁰ “U.S. all grades all formulations retail gasoline prices” in "Petroleum and other liquids," U.S. Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=emm_epm0_pte_nus_dpg&f=a.

²¹ “Advance monthly sales for retail and food services,” U.S. Census Bureau, May 14, 2026, https://www.census.gov/retail/sales.html.

²² “U.S. consumer confidence fell again in December,” PR Newswire, December 23, 2025, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-consumer-confidence-fell-again-in-december-302648784.html; and “U.S. consumer confidence retreated in January,” PR Newswire, January 28, 2025, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-consumer-confidence-retreated-in-january-302362076.html.

²³ This analysis holds for both buildup level and the buildup as a percentage of September employment. In 2008, CES found that retail trade added 324,000 jobs, not seasonally adjusted, which was 2.2 percent of September 2008’s employment level.

²⁴ “Cushing, OK WTI Spot Price FOB” in "Petroleum and other liquids," U.S. Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=rwtc&f=m.

²⁵ Jonathan Church, “Most of the planned coal capacity retirements are in the Midwest or mid-Atlantic regions,” In-Brief Analysis (U.S. Energy Information Administration, July 14, 2025), https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65744.

²⁶ Paul Kieran, “Logging is a way of life in Appalachia. It’s hanging on by a thread,” Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/logging-is-a-way-of-life-in-appalachia-its-hanging-on-by-a-thread-e9a5f0a5?st=SkW5Bp&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink.

²⁷ “New, privately-owned, residential housing units” in "Survey of Construction, Historical Time Series," U.S. Census Bureau, last revised May 21, 2026, https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/data/series.html.

²⁸ See “Historical value put in place” in "Construction spending," U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/historical_data.html; and “Definitions of construction” in "Construction spending," U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/definitions.html#:~:text=VALUE%20OF%20CONSTRUCTION%20PUT%20IN,state%20and%20locally%20owned%20projects.

²⁹ Production and nonsupervisory employees account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls. For the definition of production and nonsupervisory employees, see “Current Employment Statistics –National: Concepts” in "Handbook of Methods," U.S. Bureau of Statistics, last modified February 28, 2025, https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ces/concepts.htm.