One major factor is that the population is aging — and therefore retiring out of the workforce. Another factor is the crackdown on immigration, since immigrant communities have some of the highest labor force participation rates.
Wages are growing, but not as quickly as they were at this time last year, according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s hard to get a raise when people aren’t changing jobs.
April and May hiring increases were concentrated in lower-paying industries like leisure and hospitality, while professional sectors like banking and tech weren’t doing as well.
A slowly growing number of workers in the U.S. work part time, either because they haven’t been able to find full-time jobs, or they’ve had their hours cut.
In the April jobs report, inflation outstripped wage growth for the first time in three years. When the May jobs report comes out on Friday, we'll find out if that's a trend.
While overall job numbers have stayed pretty flat in the past year, private payroll processor ADP reported a substantial uptick in job creation by small businesses in February.
Friday’s jobs report will almost certainly show a year-over-year decline in employment in the manufacturing sector, which lost more than 90,000 jobs in 2025.
