Overview
- Benchmark revisions slashed prior estimates, leaving 2025 payroll growth at 181,000 and showing far fewer jobs than first reported in 2024–2025.
- Effective with this release, the BLS updated its birth‑and‑death model to incorporate current sample information, a change economists say can trim reported monthly gains by up to roughly 50,000 versus past methods.
- Gains were concentrated in private industries, led by health care (+82,000), social assistance (+42,000) and construction (+33,000), while federal employment (-34,000) and financial activities (-22,000) declined; manufacturing rose by 5,000.
- The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, signaling a stabilizing labor market even as job openings remain lower and announced layoffs have risen in recent months.
- Analysts note a smaller labor force from slower population growth and tighter immigration lowers the monthly job growth needed to keep unemployment steady, complicating comparisons to past cycles.