Matthew Santibanez
1. Overall unemployment and job growth changes
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Job growth (nonfarm payrolls) added only +22,000 jobs in August, down sharply from
the revised +79,000 in July (Reuters, CNBC, Investopedia).
The unemployment rate ticked up from 4.2% in July to 4.3% in August (Reuters,
mint, Investopedia).
Summary:
o Job growth fell significantly by about 57,000 fewer jobs compared to July (79k
→ 22k).
o Unemployment rose slightly, by 0.1 percentage point (4.2% → 4.3%).
2. Unemployment rates by demographics
From Table A (household data) (Bureau of Labor Statistics):
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Adult men (20+): from 4.0% in July → 4.1%, rose by 0.1 pp.
Adult women (20+): from 3.7% → 3.8%, rose by 0.1 pp.
Teens (16–19): from 15.2% → 13.9%, fell by 1.3 pp.
Whites: held steady at 3.7% (no change).
Black or African American: from 7.2% → 7.5%, rose by 0.3 pp.
Asians: from 3.9% → 3.6%, fell by 0.3 pp.
Less than HS diploma (25+): jumped from 5.5% → 6.7%, rose by 1.2 pp.
High school grads, no college (25+): from 4.4% → 4.3%, slightly fell by 0.1 pp.
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25+): steady at 2.7%, no change.
Summary of unemployment comparisons and rises:
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Higher unemployment: Adult men, adult women, Black individuals, less-than-HS grads,
Hispanic (not asked but rose from 5.0% → 5.3%) (The Wall Street Journal, Bureau of
Labor Statistics).
Unemployment rose for: adult men, adult women, Black Americans, less-than-HS
diploma holders.
Unemployment fell for teens and Asians.
No change for whites, HS grads, and those with BA+.
3. Job changes by industry (establishment data, seasonally adjusted)
From the BLS establishment (CES) data (HireQuest International, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
The Wall Street Journal):
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Manufacturing: -12,000 jobs (decline).
Retail trade: “ittle change
Financial activities: little change
Professional & business services: little change
Private education & health services (“health care” + “social assistance”): +31,000 +
16,000 = +47,000 jobs.
Leisure & hospitality: not directly in CES summar news summary says +28,000 in
leisure & hospitality (Investopedia, The Wall Street Journal).
Federal government: -15,000 jobs.
So, most new job creation was in:
1. Private education & health services (~ +47,000).
2. Leisure & hospitality (~ +28,000).
3. Others (retail, professional services, financial, manufacturing) were flat or declined. So
third place: leisure & hospitality, after health and education.
4. Federal employment change—how much has it changed so far?
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August change: -15,000 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics, HireQuest International).
Total since January peak: Down 97,000 jobs (HireQuest International, Bureau of Labor
Statistics).
Updated to 22,000 as of 9/08/25
5. Are private‑ sector job gains concentrated in industries with below‑ or
above‑ average earnings?
We look for average weekly earnings (AWE) for each industry relative to all private industries.
From Table B‑ 8a seasonally adjusted (latest available April/May data as August not yet
published) (Bureau of Labor Statistics):
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Average weekly earnings, total private: ~$1,049.83 (Apr 2025)..
Summary Table
Question
Overall job
growth &
unemploymen
t
Unemploymen
t by group
Job gain by
industry
Federal
workforce
change
Earnings for
growing
sectors
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Answer
Jobs grew by only +22,000 (down from +79,000); unemployment rose from
4.2% to 4.3%
Adult men 4.1% (+), adult women 3.8% (+), teens 13.9% (–), whites 3.7%
(↔), Blacks 7.5% (+), Asians 3.6% (–), less‑than‑HS 6.7% (+), HS grads
4.3% (–), BA+ 2.7% (↔)
Most jobs gained in private education & health services (~ +47k), then
leisure & hospitality (+28k)
Down 15,000 in August; down 97,000 since January peak
Leasure & hospitality likely below-average; healthcare around average or
above—but precise B‑8 data for those sectors is unavailable
Reuters
Investopedia
The Wall Street Journal