Short Answer
The U.S. labor market ended 2025 with one of its weakest performances in decades, but the headline payroll gain masked a deeply uneven year across industries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm employment rose by just 584,000 jobs in 2025, and health care and social assistance alone accounted for roughly 405,000 of that increase. In other words, outside of health care, the U.S. economy lost jobs on net—a pattern more typical of a recession than a modest expansion.
Key Numbers
- Total nonfarm jobs added in 2025: 584,000
- Health care and social assistance jobs added: about 405,000
- Share of 2025 job growth from health care: roughly 69%
- Average monthly job gain in 2025: 49,000
- Average monthly job gain in 2024: 168,000
- December 2025 unemployment rate: 4.4%
- Net job change excluding health care and social assistance: about -179,000
- Worst year for job growth outside a recession since: 2003
Explanation
Employment by industry is measured through the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, also known as the establishment survey, which tracks nonfarm payroll employment across hundreds of detailed industries. In 2025, the U.S. economy added 584,000 jobs, a sharp slowdown from 2.0 million in 2024. The average monthly gain fell from 168,000 to 49,000, making 2025 the weakest year for job creation outside of a recession since 2003.
The most striking feature of the 2025 labor market was its concentration. Health care and social assistance—a broad category that includes hospitals, ambulatory care, nursing and residential care facilities, and social assistance programs—added about 405,000 jobs. That means nearly seven out of every ten new jobs created in 2025 were in health care. Strip out that sector, and the rest of the U.S. economy lost jobs on net, a dynamic that economists say usually appears only during recessions.
Meanwhile, goods-producing sectors such as manufacturing, mining and logging, wholesale trade, and transportation and warehousing struggled or declined. Retail trade lost jobs in December, and government employment faced cuts tied to federal workforce reductions. Food services and drinking places were a relative bright spot, continuing to trend up, but their gains were not enough to offset weakness elsewhere.
Definition
In labor market statistics, employment by industry refers to the number of paid workers on nonfarm payrolls classified by the industry of their employer. The Bureau of Labor Statistics groups establishments using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Major sectors include goods-producing industries (mining and logging, construction, manufacturing) and private service-providing industries (wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, utilities, information, financial activities, professional and business services, education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and other services), plus government.
The figures cited here are seasonally adjusted, meaning the BLS removes predictable seasonal patterns—such as holiday hiring or summer tourism—to reveal underlying trends. The data come from the establishment survey, which samples about 119,000 businesses and government agencies covering roughly 629,000 individual worksites.
Historical Data
The 2025 job market stands out in recent history for its weakness outside of a downturn. The following table compares the two most recent years of nonfarm payroll growth.
| Year | Total nonfarm jobs added | Average monthly gain |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2,000,000 | 168,000 |
| 2025 | 584,000 | 49,000 |
According to the BLS, the 2025 increase was the smallest since the pandemic and the worst year for hiring outside of a recession since 2003. The slowdown was broad-based, but the concentration in health care made it especially unusual: in a typical expansion, job gains are spread across multiple service and goods-producing industries.
Year-over-Year Change
Between 2024 and 2025, total nonfarm payroll growth fell by about 1.4 million jobs, from 2.0 million to 584,000. The average monthly gain dropped by 119,000, from 168,000 to 49,000. Health care and social assistance remained the dominant source of growth, but even its contribution was not enough to offset declines elsewhere.
In December 2025, total nonfarm employment changed little, rising by just 50,000. Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, health care, and social assistance, while retail trade lost jobs. The unemployment rate edged down to 4.4%, but economists cautioned that the rate can fall when people leave the labor force, not only when hiring is strong.
Ranking Table
The table below summarizes the 2025 performance of major industry groups based on BLS data and reporting from NBC News and Fortune. Exact monthly or annual changes for every sector are not available in all cases, but the direction of change is clear.
| Industry group | 2025 trend | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | Strong growth | Added about 405,000 jobs; largest source of job creation |
| Food services and drinking places | Trending up | Continued to add jobs through December |
| Total nonfarm | Weak growth | +584,000 jobs; average monthly gain of 49,000 |
| Retail trade | Declining | Lost jobs in December; struggled over the year |
| Manufacturing | Declining | Goods-producing sector weakness; tariffs did not spark hiring |
| Mining and logging | Struggling | Part of broader goods-producing decline |
| Wholesale trade | Struggling | Goods-producing adjacent sector under pressure |
| Transportation and warehousing | Struggling | Declined over the year |
| Government | Declining | Federal job cuts weighed on public-sector employment |
Factors Behind the Trend
Several forces shaped the 2025 industry employment pattern. First, demand for health care services continued to rise with an aging population, making health care and social assistance a reliable source of job growth even as other sectors cooled. Second, President Donald Trump’s aggressive cuts to government jobs and immigration crackdowns reduced public-sector hiring and may have constrained labor supply in some industries.
Third, the promised manufacturing revival did not materialize in the 2025 data. Despite tariffs intended to bring production back to American soil, manufacturing employment declined, and related goods-producing sectors such as mining, logging, wholesale trade, and transportation and warehousing also struggled. Higher interest rates and cautious business spending likely contributed to the weakness in goods-producing industries.
“This really caps off a year of anemic job gains,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told Fortune. “It’s fair to call this a hiring recession or a jobless boom.”
Why It Matters
The narrowness of 2025 job growth matters because it signals that labor demand has not broadly rebounded. When job creation is concentrated in one sector—especially one heavily influenced by demographics and government health spending—workers in other industries may face fewer opportunities, slower wage growth, and greater risk of layoffs. Regions that depend on manufacturing, retail, or transportation may experience particular strain.
Economists also watch the breadth of hiring as a recession indicator. A labor market in which health care alone is adding jobs while the rest of the economy sheds them is historically unusual outside of downturns. The 2025 pattern raised concerns that the U.S. was experiencing a “hiring recession” even as the unemployment rate remained relatively low.
Limitations of the Data
The establishment survey provides timely, detailed industry data, but it has limitations. Monthly changes can be revised as more complete data arrive, and the initial estimates for a given month may shift. Seasonal adjustment can also introduce noise, especially around holidays or unusual weather. The survey counts jobs, not workers, so a person with two jobs is counted twice. It excludes agricultural workers, the self-employed, and some private household employees.
Industry classifications can also mask important shifts within sectors. For example, health care and social assistance includes a wide range of jobs, from hospital nurses to home health aides to child care workers. A gain in one part of the sector may not reflect strength across all health care occupations.
Methodology
The Bureau of Labor Statistics produces employment by industry through the Current Employment Statistics program. Each month, the BLS surveys a sample of nonfarm establishments about the number of employees on their payrolls for the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. The data are then benchmarked annually to unemployment insurance tax records to improve accuracy.
For this article, the primary figures come from the BLS employment situation for December 2025, released on January 9, 2026, and the BLS The Economics Daily summary published January 16, 2026. Additional context comes from NBC News and Fortune reporting on the same data. All figures are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise noted.
Source & Data Date
Primary source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, December 2025 employment situation released January 9, 2026, and The Economics Daily, January 16, 2026. Additional reporting from NBC News and Fortune, both January 9, 2026.
FAQ
Which industry added the most jobs in 2025?
Health care and social assistance added about 405,000 jobs in 2025, accounting for roughly 69% of total nonfarm job growth. No other major industry came close to that level of hiring.
Did any sectors lose jobs in 2025?
Yes. Manufacturing, retail trade, and several goods-producing sectors such as mining and logging, wholesale trade, and transportation and warehousing declined or struggled. Excluding health care and social assistance, the U.S. economy lost jobs on net in 2025.
How did 2025 job growth compare with 2024?
Total nonfarm employment rose by 584,000 jobs in 2025, down from 2.0 million in 2024. The average monthly gain fell from 168,000 to 49,000, making 2025 the weakest year for job creation outside a recession since 2003.
What was the unemployment rate at the end of 2025?
The unemployment rate edged down to 4.4% in December 2025. However, economists noted that the rate can fall when people leave the labor force, so the low rate did not signal broad labor market strength.
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