The latest edition of the Bureau of Labor Statistics's (BLS) monthly jobs report, released August 1, 2025, reported “little change” in jobs numbers since April. Citing the report, President Trump directed his team to fire the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer.
What does the jobs report show?
The August update showed 73,000 jobs added in July.
The report also customarily revises recent months' data as the agency receives more information from businesses. In August, the BLS revised May jobs numbers from 144,000 to 19,000 and June from 147,000 to 14,000.
The jobs report showed 73,000 jobs added in July 2025.
Change in total nonfarm employment, January 2024–July 2025
Where does the employment data come from?
It starts with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which is part of the Department of Labor. Data on unemployment and the size of the labor force comes from the household survey, or the Current Population Survey. Data on employment, jobs, and earnings comes from the establishment survey, called Current Employment Statistics.
When does the jobs report come out?
The BLS releases its employment situation summary on the first Friday of each month.
How does BLS measure jobs?
The Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey results are based on responses from around 121,000 businesses and government agencies, including both large and small businesses across a variety of industries.
There are over 163 million jobs in the US economy.
Total nonfarm employment, January 2006–July 2025, seasonally adjusted
Why is the jobs report revised?
Not all surveyed employers report payroll data in time for the initial release so the CES estimates are considered preliminary.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to collect payroll data and updates the job estimates twice before making a final yearly (benchmark) revision.
For each month, BLS releases a second estimate one month after the first, and a final estimate two months after the first. These updates include more responses and corrections.
Each time new data is added or old data is revised, BLS also updates the seasonal adjustment calculations, which can contribute to additional change in the final numbers.
How does the BLS measure unemployment?
The unemployment rate is a simple percentage of the labor force that is classified on this survey as unemployed. To be unemployed, you must meet all of the following criteria:
- You were not employed at the time of the survey.
- You were available for work at the time of the survey, except for temporary illness.
- You made at least one active effort to find a job during the prior four weeks.
There's a whole subset of definitions on what counts as an "active" job search.
In July 2025, the unemployment rate in the US was 4.2%.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, January 2007 to July 2025
Learn more about the Department of Labor (DOL), the labor force participation rate, and get the data delivered to your inbox weekly by signing up for our newsletter.
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Page sources and methodology
All of the data on the page was sourced directly from government agencies. The analysis and final review was performed by USAFacts.
