An attendee holds a “Join Our Team” flyer during the Best Hire Chicago Career Fair in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025.
Jim Vondruska | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Job creation sputtered in August, adding to recent signs of labor market weakening and likely keeping the Federal Reserve on track for a widely anticipated interest rate cut later this month.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 22,000 for the month, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for payrolls to rise by 75,000.
The report showed a marked slowdown from the July increase of 79,000, which was revised up by 6,000. Revisions also showed a net loss of 13,000 in June after the prior estimate was lowered by 27,000.
The report was the first since President Donald Trump fired former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer following the release of the July jobs report a month ago. The move came after the report showed not just a weak level of job creation but also dramatic reductions in previous months’ totals.
In McEntarfer’s place, the president nominated economist E.J. Antoni, a Trump loyalist from the Heritage Foundation who previously had criticized the BLS numbers as being politically distorted. William Wiatrowski is serving as acting BLS commissioner.
While the pace of hiring was slow, average hourly earnings increased 0.3% for the month, meeting the estimate, though the annual gain of 3.7% was slightly below the forecast for 3.8%.
Hiring was held back by a payroll reduction in the federal government, which reported a decline of 15,000.
Health care again led by sectors, adding 31,000 jobs, while social assistance contributed 16,000. Wholesale trade and manufacturing both saw declines of 12,000 on the month.
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